Diabetes UK: Diabetes is serious (2023)

Summary

More than 5 million people across the UK live with the challenges of diabetes, day in, day out. Diabetes is relentless. It requires constant decision-making and careful self-management to stay well with the condition. For too many people, diabetes still leads to serious complications and even, sadly, early death.

At the start of 2023, Diabetes UK surveyed more than 13,000 people living with diabetes or caring for someone with diabetes across the UK about their experience during 2022. This report focuses on the experiences of the 11,000 respondents from England.

Content

Diabetes UK survey findings (England only)

• Almost half of people who responded to our survey (48%) experienced difficulties managing their diabetes in 2022.
• The most common cause attributed to these difficulties, at least in part, was a lack of access to their diabetes healthcare teams, which half of respondents (50%) cited.
• More than a third (38%) of respondents found it difficult to make appointments for their diabetes check ups.
• More than half (52%) who had tried to get emotional or psychological support, faced difficulties doing so.
• People in the most deprived quintile were nearly 50% more likely to have had no contact with their healthcare team in over a year, compared to those in the least deprived.