New research shows a quarter of all people with diabetes may not be receiving treatment because they are either undiagnosed or not on practice registers. Information from over 250,000 people in England, in Europe’s largest national audit published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre on behalf of the Healthcare Commission, reveals the level and extent of diabetes care in England.
Diabetes care needs identified
The information can be used to help identify and care for people with diabetes, and to support quality improvement. The audit also shows that less than 50% of diagnosed people are receiving eye examinations and only 56% of people with diabetes are managing their blood glucose levels with HbA1c of less than 7.5%.
“Many people with diabetes are seeing their healthcare team, which is an essential part of good diabetes management. However, the audit shows that almost a quarter of people who have diabetes don’t know it or are not recorded as having diabetes with their GP,” said Douglas Smallwood, chief executive at Diabetes UK.
“The longer people are left undiagnosed or are not managing their diabetes, the greater the risk of long-term complications such as heart and kidney disease, blindness and amputations. The importance of this audit is that gaps are now identified and action can be taken by healthcare professionals to improve services. We encourage all areas to participate in this to drive up standards.”
