08.10.18
‘Wake-up call’ for NHS: a quarter of million diabetes patients suffered medication error
More than a quarter of a million diabetes patients suffered a medication error in hospital last year, putting them at risk of “lasting harm or death,” a charity’s research has found.
Research from Diabetes UK said that more than 260,000 people with diabetes experienced errors during their hospital stay in 2017, of which 9,600 suffered a serious and potentially life-threatening hypoglycaemic attack due to poor insulin management.
The ‘Making hospitals safe for people with diabetes’ report, released today, revealed concerning inadequacies in care for inpatients and a lack of specialist staff which make NHS hospitals “unsafe” for diabetics.
Diabetes UK gave six recommendations that hospitals need to make which make them safe for people with diabetes, which they say will lead to “significantly improved patient experiences” and shorter length of stays.
Over a million people with diabetes were admitted to hospital last year – which is one in six hospital beds – and that number is expected to rise to one in four by 2030.
Despite this, one in four hospitals still don’t have a specialist diabetes inpatient nurse, and despite audits showing gradual improvements to inpatient care, the report shows that much more needs to be done.
Diabetes inpatient care currently costs the NHS £2.5bn a year, 11% of the annual inpatient budget.
The charity reports that these recommendations could save the NHS millions of pounds, giving the example that a £5m investment on new diabetes inpatient specialist nursing services in 54 trusts would yield savings of £14m a year.
The recommendations include introducing multi-disciplinary diabetes inpatient teams, better training for healthcare professionals and better access to relevant systems and technology.
Co-author of the report and Diabetes UK’s inpatient programme manager, Emily Watts, said: “That 9,600 people are experiencing a severe, potentially life-threatening episode of hypoglycaemia because of inadequate care whilst in hospital, a place where people should feel supported and safe, is shocking and unacceptable.
“We hope our report will serve as a wake-up call, and lead to system-wide changes which make hospitals safe for people living with diabetes.”
The chief executive of Diabetes UK, Chris Askew, said that the NHS was under “immense strain” and that diabetes was one of many complex issues competing to be a priority.
He said: “The evidence clearly shows that fully resourced, proactive diabetes inpatient teams and an educated inpatient workforce can lead to happier, better supported patients and shorter lengths of stay.
“We will continue to work for better care for people with diabetes until every patient feels safe in hospital, from the time of admission to the point of discharge.”
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