Paediatric Diabetes – Travel Advice

• If you are travelling overseas, you will need a letter from your PDSN (Paediatric Diabetes Specialist Nurse). This will enable you to carry needles, equipment and insulin with you on your journey and at your destination.
• You must carry all your medication and equipment that you use for the management of your diabetes, in your hand luggage. Insulin will freeze in the hold of a plane.
• Remember that for your insulin, blood glucose monitors and test strips to work correctly they will need to be stored away from extreme temperatures. Cool wallets can be obtained from www.friouk.com
• It is advisable that you take double the amount you need of all equipment and insulin for your trip and split it with a travel companion if able, just in case it gets damaged or lost.
• Time changes in different countries will mean adjusting your insulin settings.
• You will probably need to reduce your dose of insulin while you are on holiday due to extremes in weather, exercise and excitement. Doses of all insulins can commonly be reduced by 10-20%.
• Discuss and plan all your journey and holiday arrangements with your paediatric diabetes specialist nurse (PDSN) before you travel.
• Take your PDSN contact numbers in case you need advice while you are away.
• Good additional travel advice can be found at www.diabetes.org.uk
• Always ensure you have appropriate travel insurance before you go.
• Check with your GP if you require any vaccinations for the country you are visiting.
• Carry a copy of your sick day rules (this can be a photo, digital or paper copy) and revise illness management before you go.
• Take your Glucagon injection as a precaution and revise how to use it before you go

REMEMBER: PLANNING YOUR TRIP WELL MEANS A HAPPY HOLIDAY!

Check list for your holiday

Equipment Take double what you will need of all supplies	Hypo/Hyper Treatment	Food	Paperwork	First Aid/other
Cool bag/FRIO bag	Glucose tablets	Biscuits	Passport	Travel Sickness medication
Insulin’s	Carbohydrate snack	Cereal bars	Travel letter	Paracetamol
Pen devices	Sweet drink	Cereals	Travel Insurance	Anti-diarrhoea medication
Needles	Fast acting glucose food	Sugar free drinks	European Health Insurance Card	Insect repellent
Sharps box/BD Safe clip	Glucose Gel	Snacks for exercise	Identification card/necklace or bracelet	Antiseptic cream/spray
Blood glucose meter	GlucoGen Hypo Kit		Travel information provided	Plasters
Finger pricking device & lancets	Blood glucose test strips		Diabetes UK country information/phrase books	Sun Protection cream
Blood Glucose diary	Blood ketone test strips		Diabetes nurse contact number

Pump Therapy Extras in addition to the above (If Applicable)
Pods/Cannulas and reservoirs
Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM such as Libre/Dexcom’s)
A copy of the Pump/CGM company details if you were to need to get in touch with their customer care for technology support.
Holiday Pump/ PDM Controller – please contact your pump company well in advance to ensure you receive it before your departure date. Take a copy of your pump settings just in case you need to switch to a new pump/switch back to pen injections
Consider using over-patches for your diabetes technologies to help secure adhesives especially if going to a hot country with swimming pools and sea.

If your symptoms or condition worsens, or if you are concerned about anything, please call your GP, 111, or 999.

Patient Experience
We know that being admitted to hospital can be a difficult and unsettling time for you and your loved ones. If you have any questions or concerns, please do speak with a member of staff on the ward or in the relevant department who will do their best to answer your questions and reassure you. 

Feedback
Feedback is really important and useful to us – it can tell us where we are working well and where improvements can be made. There are lots of ways you can share your experience with us including completing our Friends and Family Test – cards are available and can be posted on all wards, departments and clinics at our hospitals. We value your comments and feedback and thank you for taking the time to share this with us.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
If you have any concerns or questions about your care, we advise you to talk with the nurse in charge or the department manager in the first instance as they are best placed to answer any questions or resolve concerns quickly. If the relevant member of staff is unable to help resolve your concern, you can contact the PALS Team. We offer informal help, advice or support about any aspect of hospital services & experiences.

Our PALS team will liaise with the various departments in our hospitals on your behalf, if you feel unable to do so, to resolve your problems and where appropriate refer to outside help.

If you are still unhappy you can contact the Complaints Department, who can investigate your concerns. You can make a complaint orally, electronically or in writing and we can advise and guide you through the complaints procedure.

How to contact PALS:
Telephone Patient Services: 0300 123 1732 or via email at: [email protected]

Opening times:
The PALS telephone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.00pm. Please be aware that you may need to leave a voicemail message, but we aim to return your call within one working day.

If you are unable to understand this leaflet, please communicate with a member of staff.

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