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Poorly controlled diabetes costs the NHS GBP3 billion per year, study reveals

DCUK NewsBot

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Lack of proper diabetes management costs the NHS £3 billion per year, a cost that is totally avoidable, experts have said. An analysis on planned care and A&E data has found that over a third of people with diabetes are unable to maintain good control of their blood glucose levels in order to prevent costly health complications. In total, approximately £5.5 billion was spent on hospital diabetes care, and an estimated £3 billion of this was deemed "avoidable" by the researchers. This figure accounts for nearly 10% of the NHS hospital budget. On average, the NHS spends around twice as much on care for people with type 2 diabetes as it does on people without diabetes, with emergency care for type 2 patients costing three times as much as that of non-diabetic patients. Meanwhile, spending is six times as high on people with type 1 diabetes, on average. Dr Adrian Heald, of Salford Royal Hospital and one of the study authors, said: "People with diabetes are admitted to hospital more often, especially as emergencies, and stay on average longer as inpatients. "These increased hospital costs, 40 per cent of which come from non-elective and emergency care, are three times higher than the current costs of diabetes medication. "Improved management of diabetes by GPs and diabetes specialist care teams could improve the health of people with diabetes and substantially reduce the level of hospital care and costs." Emma Elvin, senior clinical adviser at Diabetes UK, suggested that more information is needed about the specific reasons why patients are admitted to hospital before conclusions can be drawn. She commented: "What we do know, is that more than a million people with diabetes were admitted to hospital in England in 2017 - meaning around 18 per cent of hospital beds were occupied by someone with diabetes - but it is incredibly important to stress that only 8 per cent were admitted because of their condition." It is hoped that measures, such as expansion of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, will improve the situation and bring down NHS spending on diabetes management in the future. The study's findings were presented at the 55th annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), which is being held in Barcelona from 16-20 Sept.

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Y'Know what the biggest costs are? The cost of life and the cost of loss of quality of life.

Tired of being blamed by an organisation that, if left to its own devices, would have me on insulin and possibly already suffering complications by giving duff advice on dietary approaches and medications.

Mad now.
 
So just perhaps do something to improve the control and look at long term savings instead of short term if they want to be financially minded rather than human about it.

1. Better food advice across the board
2. Stop blaming it all on weight (symptom as much as cause)
3 make lchf and even Newcastle diet compulsory education to give real choices beyond meds
4 give all type one the options for carb counting courses, pumps and cgm if it could help them and it’s wanted.
 
It is mind boggling - some parts of the nhs gives bad advice - then patients end up with complications - then costs nhs more money to try and treat them - then they shift the blame on bad management
 
We could probably save £2bn overnight by ceasing to advise people to keep throwing more glucose down their neck. The problem isn’t the science - it’s been known for decades. The problem is that £2bn saved by the NHS is £2bn off the bottom line of someone else’s profits.
 
Agree apart from 4 in that type 1 s do get access to courses though there are waiting times depending on where you live. Pumps are rationed as are cgms however not everyone can and will benefit from them when we persist (IMO) with the myth that we can match doses easily to carbs eaten. Makes me mad that the latter approach seems to encourage us to eat foods with barcodes that we can easily count !
 
Totally agree with this post. Diabetics are suffering because of bad advice and then being blamed for costing the NHS money! Unbelievable!

Yep I'm getting mad now too
 
I concede to your far greater knowledge of type 1. Just didn’t want to not include you guys. Also perhaps didn’t word it clearly. I meant easy prompt access to courses, and the equipment that helps the person - without rationing - whatever suits them best.
 
What really boggles the mind is that by all accounts some T1 are being rationed supplies because too much money is being spent treating the consequences of telling T2 to slowly kill themselves.
 
Jim Lahey said:
What really boggles the mind is that by all accounts some T1 are being rationed supplies because too much money is being spent treating the consequences of telling T2 to slowly kill themselves.
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I think that's a fair comment. If more people with Pre Diabetes/Type 2 Diabetes were shown educational sources such as this short video and those like it they would get the concept really quickly and easily. First thing is for the HCPs to STOP telling people not to test even if the local CCG won't pay patients should be taught how and when to test and how to interpret the readings. Support platforms (either IRL or online) are a boon to success too.

Four minutes. Note, this is a decade old!

 
The article doesnt split out type 2 and all the other types.

It doesnt say how much treatment was for other conditions and the person just happened to also be a diabetic.

Usual badly worded claptrap.

I suppose there will now be more flack for us overweight type 2's to deal with.
 
lucylocket61 said:
It doesnt say how much treatment was for other conditions and the person just happened to also be a diabetic.
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Well, it said that "around 18 per cent of hospital beds were occupied by someone with diabetes - but it is incredibly important to stress that only 8 per cent were admitted because of their condition." So, is that 8% of the diabetics, or 8% of the beds (nearly half of the diabetics). Really poor wording. And how do you count conditions that could be diabetic complications, but are also got by non diabetics?

Not surprised that T1s are so expensive, just the cost of insulin is very expensive. But my experience of T1s in hospital is that I would never trust a ward to look after me if I was incapable of managing my insulin. Intensive care, yes, ward nurses no.
 
EllieM said:
And how do you count conditions that could be diabetic complications, but are also got by non diabetics?
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Yes. Any number of other related ailments caused my metabolic syndrome. Heart disease, obesity, hypertension etc. Diabetes is just the tip of the iceberg. You can probably slap another zero onto that £3bn. Maybe two.

Can anyone hear the sound of the cash registers? And I wonder how much is spent on statins treating people for a "condition" they don't even have? Kerching!
 
And what are the newly diagnosed T2's told?...Don't test your levels and handed a nice little brochure about what you should eat that defies commonsense. It is madness!
 
Throwing good money after bad... "It is hoped that measures, such as expansion of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, will improve the situation and bring down NHS spending on diabetes management in the future. "
 
The BBC are this morning also blaming the patients.

“...ineffective management of the condition by patients.”

I give up on humanity. I say we take off and nuke the planet from orbit.
 
Jim Lahey said:
The BBC are this morning also blaming the patients.

“...ineffective management of the condition by patients.”

I give up on humanity. I say we take off and nuke the planet from orbit.
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Ineffective management by patients.... who are following doctor and dietary advice. Gotta love that conclusion. Lets ignore how they are being advised to manage it and blame the patient, so much easier.
 
Tophat1900 said:
Ineffective management by patients.... who are following doctor and dietary advice. Gotta love that conclusion. Lets ignore how they are being advised to manage it and blame the patient, so much easier.
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Yup. Help people get diabetes by promoting poor dietary advice to an entire nation. Tell them to make it worse with more of the same once they’ve got it, then complain how expensive it is to saw their leg off.
 
Jim Lahey said:
Yup. Help people get diabetes by promoting poor dietary advice to an entire nation. Tell them to make it worse with more of the same once they’ve got it, then complain how expensive it is to saw their leg off.
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I instinctively grabbed my leg when I read that...
 
Tophat1900 said:
Ineffective management by patients.... who are following doctor and dietary advice. Gotta love that conclusion. Lets ignore how they are being advised to manage it and blame the patient, so much easier.
Click to expand...
They will blame the patients for non-compliance... even when shown the food diaries and meter readings. Ignoring all anecdotal evidence ... it is a setup I say.
 
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