WARRINGTON Hospital is backing a campaign to ensure that patients with diabetes receive their insulin properly.

Insulin Safety Week 2018 runs from May 14 to 20, and Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will be holding a series of awareness sessions to mark the occasion.

Consultant diabetologist Dr Simon Saunders said: “This is part of the first national programme for insulin safety, and we as a trust wanted to get involved in this and improve the situation for people in hospital who have diabetes.

“About one in five people who are in hospital and have diabetes experience an insulin error, which can lead to problems with high or low blood sugar.

“This leads to people staying in hospital longer, and yet it’s a fairly easy thing to fix.

“Nationally, there is a problem with people in hospital getting insulin injections at the right time - the biggest issue is the timing of the insulin injection with a patient having their food.

“While we’re performing above the average - about one in 20 people will have an insulin error at Warrington Hospital - we can always do better.

“We need to make sure that the patients know when they should have their insulin - which is before they eat - and that their meal arrives at the right time, or that the nurses give them their insulin if the patient is unable to do their own injections."