About Us

Anne is an independent Diabetes Specialist Nurse, director of DIME square Ltd and Founder of PITstop and PrePITstop. She has a BSc in Professional Practice and is a non-medical prescriber.

She has extensive experience in both primary and secondary care, and a particular interest in Type 2 diabetes and the training needs of practice diabetes teams. She advises clinical commissioning groups and training providers who are developing structured primary care training programmes for healthcare professionals. She has designed and delivered courses to meet the needs of practice teams, community pharmacisits, community nurses and care homes wanting to provide a high standard of diabetes care and support to their patients.

Bibliography Author of Programme for Insulin Therapy for people with type 2 diabetes Co-author of Dietary considerations with insulin and type 2 diabetes.

Qualified from Guys Kings and St Thomas’ 2001, completed MRCP 2005, then MRCGP in 2009. PITstop diabetes educator, working as Gpwsi in Diabetes in Abbey Court, Tunbridge Wells since 2018. Completed Masters in Diabetes Leicester 2020.

Lauren brings a strong background in design and communications. From 2015 to 2019, she worked for a design and communications agency specialising in the financial services sector, developing expertise in branding, marketing, and client engagement.
In 2019, Lauren established her own Brand Consultancy while also joining the PITstop team. Initially, she supported Anne with design and marketing activities, website management, and company administration.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Lauren led the transition of PITstop’s training delivery from face-to-face courses to a fully online model, enabling the business to continue supporting clients without interruption.

Since May 2023, Lauren has served as Co-Director of PITstop, overseeing the operational side of the business. Her responsibilities include course organisation, account management, business development, and ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the company.

Sarah has been involved in diabetes in primary care for over twenty years. Firstly, gaining experience as a practice nurse involved in supporting GP diabetes clinics. Sarah joined Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT)in 2001 as a diabetes specialist nurse and completed her MSc in Diabetes in 2009.
Her areas of interest are patient education and empowerment. Until recently, Sarah was the lead nurse for developing and delivering the patient education programmes for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in east Kent. PITstop trainer since 2014.

Karen Ellard is a National PITstop trainer with over 15 years experience as a Community Diabetes Specialist Nurse. She has been a trainer on the PITstop programme in Bexley, Kent from the beginning in 2011 and played an integral part in the original course design. She continues to support Practice teams in Bexley where most practice teams are trained to an advanced level.

Sarah has worked in diabetes care since 2000, and in 2008 set up the In-Patient Diabetes service in East Kent Hospitals, as well as developing the East Kent Diabetes Foundation Course.

She completed her MSc in Diabetes Management in 2011, followed by her Nurse Prescribing in 2012. She is a Diabetes UK Clinical Champion, as well as one the Clinical Champion Community members since 2021.

Sarah has spoken and had posters at conferences both locally and nationally, and has also had organisational roles for DPC, as well as judging responsibilities for in-patient awards, QiC and the Diabetes UK Professional Conference.

She has published papers on renal care, community diabetes care, competency standards for associate practitioners as well as the use of technology in the frail and vulnerable patient groups.

She has worked as a research educator the EDEN team at Leicester Diabetes Centre, co-developing the ‘CARES’ programme, and left her role as Clinical Lead for the Medway community diabetes team in 2023.

She now works with two GP surgeries, having the primary responsibility for the complex management of those with Type 2 diabetes.

As well as the clinical work she still does, she is also an educator for the PITStop team.

After igniting a passion for diabetes whilst working in prisons, Paige became a practice nurse in 2020 and then went on to become a diabetes specialist nurse and most recently the lead diabetes specialist nurse for the community diabetes team within Milton Keynes.
Paige has a special interest in the diabetes care provided within prison/custody settings and young onset type 2 diabetes and is committed to providing compassionate diabetes care to this cohort.
Paige is currently finishing her MSc in Contemporary nursing which is naturally diabetes focused.

Bethany Kelly is a multi-award-winning Diabetes Specialist Nurse and Lead Community Clinical Diabetes Specialist Nurse in Wiltshire. A non-medical prescriber, she completed her MSc in Diabetes Practice at Swansea University in 2021 and became a Queen’s Nurse in 2024. Bethany has been a Director of the Diabetes Specialist Nursing Forum UK since 2018, receiving the “Healthcare Professional of the Year” award the same year. She is also Senior Clinical Tutor and module lead for the Community Diabetes module on the MSc in Diabetes Practice at Swansea University. She co-founded @_diabetes101, earning the 2021 Quality in Care (QiC) Diabetes Awards for Collaborative Team of the Year and Heroes of the Year. In 2024, she and her team won the QiC Insulin Excellence Award in 2024. Bethany is widely published and speaks nationally and internationally at major diabetes conferences. She is also a PITstop trainer and serves on HCP advisory boards for DRWF and Action4Diabetes. Her clinical interests include type 1 diabetes, young adult care, hypoglycaemia, early-onset type 2 diabetes, obesity, and diabetes technology.

I am the chief executive of a charity specialising in research, training and empowering structured education in the prevention and management of conditions such as diabetes and obesity. I obtained a degree in nutrition and dietetics in 1993, a post graduate teaching qualification (PGCE) in 1998 and a doctorate in diabetes in 2004.
As founder of X-PERT Health and author of the X-PERT Programmes, I have trained more than 1,500 healthcare professionals to become educators, which has permitted the delivery of structured education to more than 500,000 people with prediabetes or diabetes. The clinical trial published in 2006 demonstrated that the X-PERT Diabetes Programme significantly improves both health and quality of life along with a reduced requirement for medication. We perform annual audits and benchmark the results to the outcomes from the clinical trial to ensure that health improvement is still being achieved, our latest audit paper was published in Practical Diabetes in December 2021.
In 2017 we re-launched the X-PERT Insulin programme under the strapline of “reduce or omit”, which recognises that lifestyle changes can reduce requirement for insulin in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. In January 2018 we launched the X-PERT Weight programme that provides people with the tools they need to achieve sustainable weight loss. In April 2020, we launched the diabetes digital programme that we have now translated into 14 additional languages. In 2021, we have worked in collaboration with The Public Health Collaboration to develop The Lifestyle Club (TLC) Programme and are proud that many more people will receive up-to-date and evidence based information to help them become metabolically healthier and work towards putting their prediabetes/Type 2 diabetes into remission.
As a member of the following Scientific Advisory Boards: Public Health Collaboration (PHC); Collaboration For Kids (CFK); All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Diabetes, I look forward to the continued opportunity to further develop professional and patient education systems based on discovery learning and bespoke digital boards that enable people to develop the knowledge, understanding and confidence to manage (and even reverse) their long term condition, improving health and well-being, and NHS costs.

Sue qualified as a nurse in 1994 at Salisbury District Hospital fulfilling her childhood ambition of becoming a nurse.

She moved to Primary Care in 2002 having worked in acute hospital settings until then and as well as providing general practice nursing care, she also ran the cardiovascular clinics at her practice. Her passion has always been in Diabetes and in 2020 she was invited to become a Diabetes Specialist Nurse. She founded the community Diabetes Specialist Nurse service for Castleman Healthcare, providing complex diabetic support for 13 GP Practices and over 40 care homes across East Dorset. Since its inception, Sue has the seen the service grow, and now leads a team of 4 specialist nurses.

Sue has always been passionate about teaching and mentoring and as well as setting up the DSN service, she founded, co-wrote, and delivered the Castleman Diabetes Education Training program for Primary Care professionals across Castleman as well as other practices across Dorset. She continues to be involved in the support and professional development of Primary Care nurses, GPs, pharmacists, paramedics and HCAs across the practices as well as maintaining close links with the Hospital Diabetes Teams with regular monthly MDTs with the consultants and fellow diabetes specialists.

In 2025, Sue was delighted to join the PITstop team as a trainer. Her specialist interests are in pre-surgery diabetes optimisation and in the education and support of her patients and colleagues. She continues to work as a Diabetes Specialist Nurse and lead the DSN service for Castleman Healthcare.

Marianne Hamlyn is a Diabetes Specialist Nurse working in Primary care in East Kent. She has specialised in Diabetes from 2008, when she started with the PitStop Injectables Training Course.

Marianne has been involved with a variety of Diabetes related quality improvement projects, earning her the Queens Nurse title, of which she is immensely proud.

In her spare time, Marianne is a Beekeeper and enjoys long walks in the Kentish countryside.

A registered nurse with experience across both the NHS and the diabetes medical technology industry.

Sarah’s clinical background is rooted in specialist inpatient diabetes services, where she worked as a Senior Diabetes Inpatient Specialist Nurse. As a qualified Independent and Supplementary Prescriber, she has extensive experience in the assessment and management of people with diabetes, with a particular focus on delivering high-quality care, enhancing patient safety, and supporting best practice across healthcare settings.

She holds a BSc (Hons) in Adult Nursing and is currently undertaking an MSc in Diabetes at the University of Leicester, further advancing her specialist knowledge and expertise in diabetes care.

Alongside her NHS career, Sarah has developed valuable commercial experience within the diabetes medical technology sector. In her industry role, she works closely with healthcare professionals and patients to increase awareness of diabetes care best practice, deliver education and training, and support clinical study days, conferences, and educational events.

Passionate about lifelong learning, Sarah is committed to staying at the forefront of developments in diabetes care, ensuring healthcare professionals have access to the latest knowledge, technologies, and best practices to support their patients. By combining specialist clinical expertise with industry insight, she bridges the gap between practice, education, and innovation to help improve the experience and outcomes of people living with diabetes.

With 15 years of experience in the insurance industry, managing key business accounts and building strong client relationships, Jenni brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the PITstop team. She joined in 2023 and plays a key role in client account management, looking after Training Hubs and ICBs commissioning PITstop courses and booking places. Jenni is also often the first point of contact for enquiries, overseeing the admin inbox and managing the day-to-day administrative tasks that keep everything running smoothly. With her friendly and professional approach, Jenni helps ensure clients receive a seamless and supportive service from initial enquiry through to course booking and delivery.

Sue has worked in Primary Care Management and administration for over 28 years and in the private sector prior to this.

Sue came on board with the PITstop admin team in 2024. Sue hosts courses, helps with course coordination, course contracts and one of the faces behind the admin email. Sue also uses her skills in HR to help support PITstop.