Diabetes Centre

The Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) Hospital Diabetes Centre was established in 1980 and was the first diabetes ambulatory care centre in Australia. It pioneered services that kept people with diabetes out of hospital.

Each year more than 3,500 people with diabetes, and their families, come to us for high-quality, specialised clinical services.

We provide national leadership in patient-centred diabetes care, conduct research, training and education for healthcare professionals, develop innovative models of care, and support associated services such as liver transplant services, renal and cancer care.

Staff at RPA Diabetes Centre work with regional and global colleagues, developing multidisciplinary teams and integrated centres to focus on patient education, clinical care and research. They regularly hold positions on consumer and professional diabetes organisations, on boards, research committees, program organising committees and state government advisory bodies.

Recognition of excellence

In an Australia-wide audit of diabetes services, RPA Hospital's Diabetes Centre was shown to deliver a superior model of team-based diabetes care (Cheung et al, Diabetic Medicine 2008). In the 1980s RPA Hospital's Diabetes Centre pioneered the concept of nurse-led clinics in diabetes in which nurses undertake much of the clinical management of patients. The centre has a national and international focus. In 2015 and 2019 the Diabetes Centre received the award of Centre of Excellence from the National Association of Diabetes Centres (NADC). In 2011 the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) the centre was awarded Centre of Excellence status.

Goals

The RPA Hospital Diabetes Centre seeks ways to improve the delivery of diabetes services. It is underpinned by a broad research program and ongoing professional education of diabetes health care professionals. The centre aims to:

• provide best practice patient-centred clinical care
• develop, implement and evaluate innovative and cost-effective ambulatory care services
• conduct high-quality clinical and educational research
• support healthcare professionals with innovative, contemporary training and education
• maintain a comprehensive database to support all the activities of the centre
• promote the philosophy of an integrated team approach
• promote a two-way flow of healthcare service provision across primary and tertiary care

Values

• A culture of collaboration and caring
• Excellence in clinical practice
• Respect and equal care to all
• Integrity in clinical and educational research
• Empowerment and advocacy for people with diabetes in our community