Diabetes care: Is it fair enough? (Diabetes UK, 10 May 2023)

Summary

Missed checks, disrupted care and health inequalities have been revealed in a new report from Diabetes UK looking at the state of diabetes care in England.

The report reveals that less than half (47%) of people living with diabetes in England received all eight of their required checks in 2021-22, meaning 1.9 million people did not receive the care they need. 

It is calling for urgent action to address the routine diabetes care backlog and prevent avoidable deaths of people living with diabetes. 

Content

The report sets out a series of recommendations for how this care crisis can be tackled. It is calling for:  

• A focus on diabetes in the government’s Major Conditions Strategy, including plans to tackle the backlog in diabetes care, reduce health inequalities and provide more support to help people lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes 
• A fresh commitment from the government to implement its stalled obesity strategy in full and without further delay, including restrictions on junk food marketing 
• Commitments in the plans of every Integrated Care Board in England to address the backlog in care, inequalities in access to care and to put type 2 diabetes prevention at the heart of their strategies.