A new report into the state of diabetes care in England has revealed thousands of excess deaths, ‘deeply alarming’ numbers of missed checks and stark health inequalities, with people from the poorest areas struggling most to access vital services.
The report, published by Diabetes UK, says that ‘fragmented’ access to services across the country is having a damaging impact on the wellbeing of millions of people with diabetes. It means that many people with diabetes are being left to ‘go it alone’ in managing their condition.
Figures highlighted in the report shows there were more than 7,000 excess deaths involving people with diabetes in 2022, a rise of 13% from pre-pandemic levels – with data suggesting the majority of these were not attributable directly to Covid-19. Furthermore, the situation has worsened in the first part of 2023, with 1,461 excess deaths between January and March, three times as high as the same period in 2022
Diabetes UK believes the increase may be linked to the backlog in routine diabetes care caused by the Covid-19 pandemic when services faced huge disruptions.
