28.06.16
Harm to diabetic patients decreases, but overall rates increase
The number of patients with diabetes has continued to increase, but measures to reduce harm to patients with diabetes have succeeded, an audit by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has found.
The National Inpatient Diabetes Audit 2015 found that the number of hospital beds occupied by patients with diabetes increased from 14.6% in 2010 to 16.8% in 2015.
In the same period, the proportion of diabetic patients developing a foot lesion decreased from 2.2% to 1.1%, saving the NHS £30m.
The proportion of patients having one or more hypoglycaemic episode reduced from 26.1% to 21.8%. And the number of patients having one or more severe life threatening hypoglycaemic episodes experienced a smaller decrease, from 2.4% to 2.1%.
Dr Gerry Rayman, the audit’s lead clinician, said: “We are proud of what the audit has achieved since 2010 and the difference it has made to hospital care for patients with diabetes.
“However the results do show that, while the number of inpatients continues to rise, this is not being matched by resources and staffing which could make an even more significant improvement.”
The audit also raised concerns about care of patients with diabetes, which could make them vulnerable to care complications.
It showed that 67% of patients did not have a specific diabetic foot risk examination during their hospital stay, and 31% of hospital sites still do not have a multidisciplinary diabetic foot care team, despite previous audits saying these were needed to reduce foot lesion rates further.
There was also a lack of specialist staff, with 31.1% of sites having no diabetes inpatient specialist nurse available. The figure has not increased since 2010.
Furthermore, 9.2% of sites did not have any consultant time for diabetes inpatient care and 71.4% did not have specialist inpatient dietetic staff time for people with diabetes.
The report also showed that the percentage of inpatients experiencing medication errors had increased from 37.0% to 38.8% in 2013-15, reversing a previous decrease.
A Public Accounts Committee report in January criticised management of diabetes by the Department of Health and the NHS, saying it was contributing to the rising cost of the condition.
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