Diabetes UK is calling for ‘urgent action’ after its new report revealed the ‘catastrophic impact’ of the state of diabetes care in England.
A new Diabetes UK report into diabetes care in England has found that less than half of people with diabetes are receiving vital care.
It also revealed that the number of people dying from diabetes in the UK per year has increased by 7,000. The charity believes this increase may be linked to the backlog in routine diabetes care caused by Covid-19.
As a result, Diabetes UK is calling for ‘urgent action’ to address the routine care backlog and to prevent avoidable deaths of people living with diabetes.
This comes after the number of people living with diabetes in the UK topped five million for the first time.
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Nearly two million without vital care
The new report, Diabetes Care: Is it fair enough? highlighted missed checks, disrupted care and health inequalities.
Routine diabetes care includes a series of checks every year including blood sugar and blood pressure. These checks are shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, hospitalisation, premature death, and other complications.
However, the report findings have highlighted that only 47% of people with diabetes received all eight of their required checks in 2021-22. This means that 1.9 million people did not receive the care they need, the charity has said.
In addition, Diabetes UK is concerned by the ‘stark health inequalities across England’ also highlighted by the report. It found that people from the most deprived areas are struggling most to access vital services, with one in three people finding it difficult to contact their diabetes healthcare team in 2022.
This is compared to one in four people in the least deprived areas.
People with diabetes ‘left to go it alone’
Chris Askew OBE, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: ‘Diabetes is relentless, and people living with diabetes need the close support and monitoring of healthcare professionals.
‘This routine care can be lifesaving, and help prevent other serious complications such as amputations, strokes and heart disease.
‘Yet far too many people with diabetes are being left to go it alone managing this challenging and potentially fatal condition, with deeply alarming numbers of checks either missed or delayed.
‘We know health professionals are working incredibly hard to give people the care they need, but they are just too stretched to provide the time and personalised support that is required – and it’s having a catastrophic impact.
‘The government must commit to tackling this diabetes care crisis in its Major Conditions Strategy, while local health systems should make it a priority in their plans.’
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