Paula Johnston is the lead adult inpatient diabetes specialist nurse at the University Hospital Southampton (UHS), where she has been working within diabetes for the past 14 years.                                            

She is a non-medical prescriber and has completed her Masters in diabetes.  She has a special interest in genetic diabetes (MODY) and is the lead genetic diabetes nurse for the Central and South GMSA.  She has also developed the inpatient self-administration of insulin policy for UHS which has been shared nationally.

Paula won the QiC diabetes health care professional of the year in 2023 and the British Journal of Nurse (BJN) Diabetes nurse of the year in 2024.

She is the vice chair of the Diabetes inpatient specialist nurse (DISN) forum UK.

Paula has had several articles published and she also teaches on the Diabetes MSC and non-medical prescribing modules at Southampton University.