14
NEWS
Diabetes is serious
People with diabetes deserve better care says
Diabetes UK.
New statistics from the
national charity Diabetes
UK reveal thousands of
people are struggling
to access diabetes care with little
more than a third of people living
with the condition receiving their
recommended checks. The figures
appear in Recovering Diabetes Care;
Preventing the Mounting Crisis, a
report which has been published
as part of the charity's Diabetes is
Serious campaign. campaign showing
the scale of the problem with a series
of calls to UK government to tackle it.
The report, which includes the
results of a survey of more than
10,000 people living with or affected
by diabetes, found almost half (47%)
experienced difficulties managing
their condition last year.
Only 36% of people with diabetes
in England received all their
recommended checks, 21% fewer
than the previous year. This failure
to monitor people has put them at
risk of serious complications and
premature death, Diabetes UK says.
63% of those questioned attributed
this in part to not having sufficient
access to their healthcare team.
Unsurprisingly, the report also
showed people in the most deprived
areas are finding it harder to manage
and to access care, where 71% said
they had such problems.
The long view
Diabetes UK says urgent government
action is needed before lives are
needlessly lost. It found people living
with diabetes have be 'pushed to
the back of the queue during the
coronavirus pandemic and said a
national recovery plan is needed to
support front line healthcare teams
in getting vital services back on track.
This plan should specifically address
the problems caused by lack of
investment and staffing constraints
and demonstrate a renewed
commitment to improving outcomes
for people with, and at risk of,
diabetes as part of the forthcoming
update of the NHS Long Term Plan.
"Everyone with diabetes should
have a review of the key care
processes and their care plan by the
end of 2022. If people with diabetes
cannot receive the care they need,
they can risk devastating, life altering
complications," said Chris Askew,
chief executive of Diabetes UK. "We
know the NHS has worked tirelessly
to keep us safe throughout the
pandemic, but the impacts on care
for people living with diabetes have
been vast. While the UK Government
has been focused on cutting waiting
lists for operations and other planned
care, people with diabetes have been
pushed to the back of the queue. We
need to get this essential, life-saving
care back on track."
There are an estimated 4.9m
people living with diabetes in
the UK. To reduce the risk of
complications, people living with
diabetes must constantly selfmanage
their condition with support
from healthcare professionals
through routine care. A cornerstone
of this is formed by eight 'care
processes' recommended by the
National Institute for Health and
Care Excellence (NICE), which
include annual HbA1c blood
glucose measurement, foot checks,
eye checks and blood pressure
monitoring. Research has shown that
the delivery of these regular checks
is associated with better health
outcomes in the long-term.
www.diabetes.co.uk