The NHS is spending £6billion a year on complications linked to diabetes, such as amputations and blindness, an alarming report reveals.
Diabetes UK warns many of the issues are avoidable and is calling on the health service to shift its focus ‘from crisis to preventative care’.
The charity says this would reduce harm to patients living with the condition and bring down the extraordinarily high costs.
Diabetes UK estimates that more than 4.4 million people in the UK are living with diabetes, and a further 1.2 million could have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity.
Every week, diabetes leads to 2,990 cases of heart failure, more than 930 strokes, 660 heart attacks and 184 amputations.
Kim Steer, 56, from Yeovil, Somerset, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 19. She has diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that develops if your blood glucose levels and blood pressure are consistently high
Almost 4.3 million people were living with diabetes in 2021/22, according to the latest figures for the UK. And another 850,000 people have diabetes and are completely unaware of it, which is worrying because untreated type 2 diabetes can lead to complications including heart disease and strokes
To reduce the risk of complications, patients must self-manage their condition with regular support from healthcare professionals.
However, 1.6million people with diabetes in England did not receive all eight checks they were entitled to in 2022/23, figures show.
New research commissioned by Diabetes UK — and carried out by economists at the University of York — estimates the direct cost of diabetes to the NHS was £10.7 billion in 2021/22.
This was equal to 6 per cent of the total UK health budget and up from £9.8 billion in 2012.
Some 80 per cent of these costs were due to diabetes-related complications, such as problems with the kidneys, eyes, circulation, and nerve damage in 2012.
Improvements in blood sugar control reduced this figure to 60 per cent in 2021, the latest year available, but it still means the NHS is spending £6.2billion a year on ‘potentially preventable complications’, Diabetes UK said.
The remainder, about £4.4 billion, was spent on diagnosis, GP appointments, eye screening, blood tests, medication, support programmes and specialist diabetes team.
Academics urged health officials to ‘continue to invest in diabetes prevention, care and treatment to reduce future costs of complications with population-level interventions in addition to individual approaches’.
And they warned the total annual cost to the NHS could soar to £18billion by 2035 if no action is taken to reduce the number of people developing type 2 diabetes and improving outcomes for everyone living with the disease.
Colette Marshall, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said the research ‘paints a stark picture’.
‘These complications cause untold hardship to many thousands of people and are, in most cases, preventable with the right care,’ she added ‘Getting care right for people with diabetes can save limbs, sight and lives.
‘But despite some progress, too many people are still missing out and too many are developing diabetes complications.
‘Shifting the dial from crisis to preventative care would help to reduce the harm from diabetes, allowing people with the condition to live well while, ultimately, reducing the cost to the health service.’
Last year academics said diabetes cases are likely to ‘grow aggressively’ in every country and among every age group.
A paper published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal said that by 2050, some 1.3 billion people will have diabetes, more than double the 529 million cases in 2021.
Earlier this month, NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said that the number of people under 40 at risk of developing type 2 diabetes rose by a quarter last year.
The latest National Diabetes Audit found 3.6 million patients registered with a GP were found to have pre-diabetes – when blood sugar is above normal range, but not high enough to be diagnosed with the condition – in 2023.
This is an increase of 549,000, or 18 per cent, on the previous 12 months.
The figure increased by almost a quarter in those under the age of 40, from 173,166 in 2022 to 216,440 last year.
Nick Hex, associate director for the NHS and public sector at the York Health Economics Consortium, said: ‘Diabetes is a debilitating and serious condition that affects people on a daily basis on many different levels.
‘It remains very costly to the NHS, and the majority of those costs are still spent on potentially preventable complications.
‘Increased investment in new medicines and technologies that help people better manage their condition contribute to some of the high ongoing costs, but the rise in type 2 diabetes in under 40s is a particular concern and there needs to be continued focus on prevention strategies.’
Source: Mail Online
