17.08.15
Cost of diabetes treatment ‘threatens to bankrupt’ NHS
The number of people with diabetes in the UK has increased by almost 60% in the last 10 years, and the cost of treating the disease could “bankrupt” the NHS, Diabetes UK has warned.
The charity has released new figures, extracted from NHS data, which shows that there are now more than 3.3 million people diagnosed with diabetes. This is an increase of more than 1.2 million adults compared with 2005 when there were 2.08 million people diagnosed with the condition.
Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “Diabetes already costs the NHS nearly £10bn a year, and 80% of this is spent on managing avoidable complications. So there is huge potential to save money and reduce pressure on NHS hospitals and services through providing better care to prevent people with diabetes from developing devastating and costly complications.
“The NHS must prioritise providing better care, along with improved and more flexible education options, for people with diabetes now, and give them the best possible chance of living long and healthy lives. Until then, avoidable human suffering will continue and the costs of treating diabetes will continue to spiral out of control and threaten to bankrupt the NHS. Now is the time for action.”
Diabetes UK added that at present only six in 10 people with diabetes in England and Wales receive the eight care processes recommended by the National Institute for Health Care and Excellence (NICE).
Martin McShane, national medical director for long-term conditions at NHS England, said the figures are a “stark warning” and reveal the increasing cost of diabetes to the NHS.
“Evidence is piling up that added sugar and excess calories are causing avoidable increases in obesity and diabetes,” he said. “We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, it’s time to get serious about lifestyle change. Prevention is better than treatment for individual health as well as the health of the NHS.”