Virtual College's online training course tackles management of diabetes in pregnancy

Having diabetes during pregnancy can impact the health of both the mother and her unborn baby. In the UK, diabetes affects approximately 2600 pregnancies a year and this has increased by 6% in the last seven years. Poor management of diabetes in pregnancy is associated with risks such as miscarriage, congenital malformations (most commonly heart and skeletal defects) and fetal macrosomia.The Safe Management of Diabetes in Pregnancy online training course aims to minimise these risks by increasing professionals’ understanding of the management of diabetes in women pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and during the postnatal period.The e-learning materials were created with subject matter experts from: NHS England; University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust; South Tees NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.This training has been specifically developed for all professionals who care for women with diabetes who become pregnant or wish to become pregnant and takes approximately an hour to complete.Judith Clarkson, Divisional Director of Virtual College, explained: "Online learning is providing convenient, flexible access to vital training materials for thousands of busy healthcare professionals."This course is available for free as part of the subscription based National Patient Safety Training Suite developed by Virtual College in partnership with NHS England. The suite now consists of ten courses and has over ¼ of a million registered learners to date. Another 5 courses will be added by March 2015.Subscription provides 12 months unlimited training access for all staff and different options are available for individuals, small, medium and large organisations.More information is available from Virtual College’s Patient Safety Training Manager, John Thornton: 01943 885086 or email john.thornton@virtual-college.co.uk.Visit http://www.healthcareea.co.uk/patient_safety_training_suite to find out more.