Charles Fox is a Consultant with Special Interest in Diabetes at Northampton General Hospital Trust, with over 30 years of experience. He is co-author of Diabetes - the 'at your fingertips' guide, the classic patient reference book which is about to be split into two editions, the first concentrating on type 1 diabetes, the other focusing on type 2. He also wrote Diabetes in the Real World (winner of the Richard Asher Award from the British Medical Association), on how to manage diabetes in general practice. Mary MacKinnon MMed Sci, RGN has nearly 30 years experience of diabetes care in primary and specialist health care settings. She co-ordinated diabetes services in Sheffield for 10 years and set up diabetes education for nurses at the University of Sheffield. She was a co-founder and Director of Education of Warwick Diabetes Care, the University of Warwick and has contributed to diabetes development nationally and internationally. Mary was the author of the first four editions of Providing Diabetes Care in General Practice and has been a pioneer in facilitating the extended role of nurses in diabetes care.