Outcomes are reported from an audit comprising a before-and-after assessment of 185 patients referred to the GPSI Diabetes service – a patient-centred intervention for diabetes management – between 2008 and 2010. The aim of this audit was to determine if this patient-centred intervention improves diabetes care, as measured by changes in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c). The GPSI Diabetes service is a communitybased service, run by a general practitioner with a specific interest (GPSI) in diabetes, and a practice nurse. Adults with diabetes are referred to the service by their GP and care is provided using a set of loosely structured diabetes-specific patient-centred approaches. Following a series of visits, patients are discharged back to their GP. At intake, baseline HbA1c was higher among Māori than among New Zealand Europeans. This difference was reduced by the patient-centred intervention. Immediate and sustained (two-year) improvements in HbA1c were observed in both New Zealand Europeans and Māori with type 2 diabetes and type 1 diabetes. Completed patient and GP satisfaction questionnaires did not contain any negative feedback, but the response rate was low among patients.
