The winning entry of the 2013 Carol Furber Award for a case study presentation

Tom Cheke is this year's winner of the Carol Furber Award for his reflectice account of a Category C, 30 minute diabetic problem.

The prime purpose of the award is to encourage members of the College of Paramedics to make case study presentations. This will promote reflection on professional practice and enable the results and experience to be presented to the wider profession and other health care practitioners. Case studies of a high standard may also raise research questions.

This reflective account will be structured using Gibbs’ (1988) model of reflection. Pseudonyms will be used to maintain patient and employee confidentiality (HCPC, 2007).

I was working as a student with a paramedic (P1) and an emergency care support worker (E1) on an ambulance. We were sent to a Category C, 30 minute diabetic problem. On arrival we were met by ‘June’, a patient with dementia being cared for in a nursing home. June suffered from dementia and was a type 1 diabetic, managing with insulin injections three times daily. Today June had a blood glucose reading of 24.2 mmol/L and nurses were concerned; they had spoken with June's GP who wanted her taken to A&E for management. It came to light that June had only been discharged from a two night stay in hospital in the early hours of the morning, for complications with her diabetes. She had had her insulin regime changed and there seemed to be some confusion from the nursing staff as to what the new regime was.