Caring for diabetic patients is a big part of Dr. Gary Sibbald\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoctors are trying to save limbs and save lives, and one of the things we focus on is lower limb amputation prevention,\u201d Sibbald told SooToday.<\/p>\n
Amputation in a diabetic patient brings a high risk of death, with about 50\u00a0to 60 per cent of patients dying within five years after the procedure.<\/p>\n
The Mississauga-based Sibbald, a dermatologist and internist, has held monthly clinics for patients in the Sault for over 40 years.<\/p>\n
Sibbald wants to see more doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and other medical staff trained in diabetic care\u00a0in a series of\u00a0 one-day wound care sessions for diabetic patients that will be held online.<\/p>\n
The sessions are presented by Project Echo, a virtual education program for health care professionals.<\/p>\n
Those attending the sessions will be able to identify high risk diabetic patients for foot ulcers, perform bedside arterial assessments, recognize and differentiate wound infections, assess footwear-related risks for patients and apply compression therapy.<\/p>\n
Participants will then be asked to participate in a one-day, in-person skills training session, submit and present one de-identified patient case, complete other assignments and sign a statement of collaboration with Project Echo and Woundpedia.<\/p>\n
Woundpedia is a Mississauga-based not-for-profit organization, co-founded by Sibbald in 1999, that provides clinical training for health care professionals.<\/p>\n
The training in Woundpedia sessions is accredited by Queen\u2019s University.<\/p>\n
Those who complete all the steps will be equipped with a diabetes tool kit to treat patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tool kit includes an audible hand-held Doppler ultrasound tool, so at the bedside clinicians can listen and pick up a pulse from a patient\u2019s foot,\u201d Sibbald said.<\/p>\n
Using the Doppler and other instruments in the tool kit can lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment for diabetic patients.<\/p>\n
Each kit includes the audible handheld Doppler, an infrared thermometer, a special boot for diabetic patients and several types of bandages.<\/p>\n
The kits are valued at approximately $3,000, while the Doppler device can cost between $800 and $1,200.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can supply these tool kits to various nursing stations across the northeast and further north, I think that we can help them prevent amputations,\u201d Sibbald said.<\/p>\n
That help is needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number of amputations here in the north is three times higher than in southern Ontario, and 80 per cent of the amputations are preventable,\u201d Sibbald said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmputations are still increasing here in the north. I think we do need coordinated action and getting the tool kits into the hands of health-care professionals is a way for us to help communities and give them support.”<\/p>\n
The wound care program by Project Echo, along with the tool kits, are paid for by the Ontario government.<\/p>\n
Two-thirds of the program for nurse practitioners is paid for the province, one-third by the federal government.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really do want to train 100 nurse practitioners,\u201d Sibbald said.<\/p>\n
Approximately 350 tool kits have gone out across Ontario over the years, with 20 of them across northeastern Ontario.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Sault we’re not as high as we would like to be in the number of kits. There are maybe six or seven kits in the Sault,\u201d Sibbald said.<\/p>\n
Getting the tool kits out can also lead to earlier treatment of diabetic patients in more remote communities, enabling them to receive treatment at home without having to fly out to larger centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to move knowledge, not patients,\u201d Sibbald said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a weird excitement,\u201d said Nicole Hurley, Sibbald\u2019s clinical assistant as she described her own training in the program and use of a tool kit to care\u00a0for patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy watching people heal. Their lives are changed from their first visit to their next visit,\u201d Hurley said.<\/p>\n
Though doctors can treat diabetes with insulin therapy, blood sugar tracking and various medications, Sibbald said diabetes can be avoided or managed better through lifestyle changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest things is to get them to stop smoking,\u201d Sibbald said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne cigarette will decrease circulation by about 30 per cent for an hour. That could be the difference between saving a toe, saving a limb or even saving a life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The series of Project Echo virtual sessions dealing with diabetes will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 30 with subsequent sessions each Wednesday until Nov. 18.<\/p>\n
Participants should be registered by Sept. 21, Sibbald said.<\/p>\n