Chair's statement on management of adult diabetes services in NHS: progress review

21 October 2015

A statement from Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts:

"I am deeply disappointed that the Department of Health has made such little progress since 2012 in helping people with diabetes - a disease that needs careful management and which we know can kill. With £5.6 billion spent annually in England on diabetes, it is vital to improve treatment and prevention.
Not enough has been done to increase the proportion of patients who receive the recommended checks and achieve the recommended treatment standards. Some groups of patients and geographical areas receive distinctly worse care and their health is suffering as a result. More than two-thirds of the £5.6 billion spent by the NHS on diabetes patients in England is due to complications such as amputation, blindness, kidney failure or stroke and the number of people who develop these complications is rising.
A staggering 135 people every week in England now have an amputation as a result of diabetes. Yet less than three in five patients are monitored for all the tell-tale signs that can help detect and manage the risk of developing diabetic complications.
With proper education and support, many people with diabetes can manage their conditions themselves. Yet just 16% of people who are diagnosed with diabetes each year are recorded as being offered education about their condition, and fewer than 4% are recorded as taking up this offer. While NHS England has successfully increased the number of patients who are offered and take up training, far too many are still not getting the help they need.
The number of people with diabetes is expected to rise to 4.2 million people by 2030, affecting almost 9% of the population. Given its association with serious and potentially life-threatening complications and the lack of progress in improving patient care and support in some key areas, the Department of Health and NHS England still have much to do."

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