Diabetes cases soar 60% in 10 years

The number of people living with diabetes in the UK has soared by 60% the last ten years, according to analysis by Diabetes UK.

Latest NHS figures show a drastic increase in the numbers diagnosed, with an extra 1.2 million people developing diabetes in the region in the last decade and 24,123 living with the condition in Liverpool.

The charity Diabetes UK is warning that a dramatic increase in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes over the past decade is putting a huge financial burden on the NHS.

Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, says 80 per cent of this is spent on managing “avoidable” 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”.

While reasons for the increase in type one diabetes are unclear, the increase in type two diabetes has been blamed on poor lifestyle. “Now is the time for action”, the charity has said.

The charity urged the government to ensure that every diabetes patient receives correct and timely treatment in order to reduce the risk of further health complications and the consequential costs for the “already strained” NHS budget.

Currently, 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), including blood pressure and kidney function checks.

Martin McShane, its national director for long-term conditions, said: “Evidence is piling up that added sugar and excess calories are causing avoidable increases in obesity and diabetes”.

The charity said more than 3.3 million people have some form of the condition, up from 2.1 million in 2005.

These can include foot amputations, blindness and strokes – and this is largely why the illness is so expensive for the NHS.

Type 1 diabetes, in which the pancreas does not produce any insulin, often appears in childhood.

Diabetes medication now accounts for ten per cent of the NHS drugs bill, with £869m spent on drugs such as insulin and metformin.

London was the region with the largest amount of items prescribed, 5.8 per cent of the total number of diabetes prescriptions.