Background/purpose Traditionally, children and young people with Diabetes (CYPD) attend hospital clinics at least 4 times a year to see the Diabetic Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) for their regular reviews. Attendances in those patients who are in secondary school in the 11–16 year age group have been very poor at Hillingdon Hospital during 2012/13. There are multiple factors that can influence clinic non-attendance including the CYPD being reluctant to come to hospital due to the perceived burden of illness and the need for time off school during a critical period (GCSEs exams) as well as parental factors such as the need for time off work and practicalities such as difficult parking. To address these issues we decided to develop an innovative clinic model based on taking the MDT clinic out to local schools.

Material/Methods The Paediatric Diabetes MDT underwent 3 monthly visits to 4 schools in the Hillingdon borough that had 5 or more CYPD enrolled between April 2013 and the present day. The team included a Paediatric Diabetes Consultant, Specialist nurse and Dietician. Outcomes measured included number of missed appointments, patient quality of life and parents’ satisfaction measured using Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs).

Results Our innovative approach to dealing with CYPD MDT reviews revealed: a significant reduction in missed appointments from 30% to only 2%, improved patient quality of life and parent satisfaction and decreased admissions to hospital with diabetes related complications. Awareness of diabetes in school welfare officers was increased during the project.

Conclusion Our innovative approach to improving Diabetes MDT clinic attendance has had a positive impact on patients’ health and quality of life. This approach could be rolled out across the UK to improve both the health and educational attainment of this vulnerable group of children.