Winter preparedness: a national framework for the delegation of insulin administration

As we approach the winter months, health and social care continues to experience significant demand. There is a need to effectively plan how we use the skills and knowledge of our workforce, to manage capacity in a collaborative manner, leveraging the strengths of each team, service and individual practitioner across the health and social care landscape. ‘Building capacity through the implementation of the National Framework for the Delegation of Insulin Administration’ is a key initiative to support this work in community-based services.

Originally developed in 2020 and launched at the 2020 Chief Nursing Officer Summit by the Head of Community Nursing—Sam Sherrington, the voluntary framework for the delegation of insulin administration was built upon a model policy, supporting material and eLearning, with a dissemination plan originating in exemplar sites and subsequent buddy sites. Shortly after this, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and much of the work was temporarily paused.

In December 2020, the joint statement of intent called upon health and social care organisations in England to work together to encourage the safe delegation of administration of insulin by releasing registered nurses to maximise their contributions elsewhere. It also asked that non-registered staff be equipped with skills that could help reduce unnecessary delays in insulin delivery and improve the quality of care for patients. More recently, the roll out of the framework has been identified as a key priority of the annual Community Nursing Programme 2022-23.