Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diabetes specialist nurses were employed in (a) Lancashire and (b) England in each of the last five years.

The National Health Service annual workforce census published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre provides information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the NHS in England but it does not separately identify diabetes specialist nurses. However, there are now over 6,300 more nurses, midwives and health visitors working in the NHS in England compared to May 2010.

It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses. Specialist nurses provide invaluable support for patients and their families. They are able to provide specialist treatment and advice and act as a gateway to other members of the multidisciplinary team, which can both save the NHS money and, more importantly, improve care and outcomes for patients.