Workers with diabetes face unemployment

An investigation by BBC Five Live has found that people in the UK are losing their jobs because they have diabetes. The investigators reported that Ambulance drivers, taxi drivers, cake factory workers and firefighters have reported that their disease has affected the status of their job.
Using specific examples from different industries around Britai, the Five Live investigators aimed to uncover the extent to which the problem is occurring. They found specific examples in several industries, highlighting a range of cases that will bring shock and surprise to the healthcare and diabetes communities.
An expert from the charity Diabetes UK was reported as saying, “It is unacceptable that many people who treat their diabetes with insulin, who are perfectly fit to drive, are still denied a livelihood.” He went on to state, “we believe that judging a person’s fitness to drive should be based on individual medical assessment, and not blanket bans.”
Diabetes is growing rapidly in the UK, with over 2 million cases now diagnosed, and a reported other million who may have the disease without even knowing it. The cost of healthcare as diabetes-related complications increase will be enormous. Cutting diabetics off from their jobs is certainly unlikely to help decrease this threat, which some experts are calling a ‘timebomb.’ The investigation raises important questions about disease, employment and discrimination.