NHS England has published a 32 page action plan, called Action on Diabetes that recognises needed improvements in diabetes care and outlines strategies to address them.
The action plans recognises a number of issues that together face people with diabetes and the NHS. These issues include:
The number of people receiving all the necessary diabetes health checks is too low
Too few people meeting blood glucose targets (HbA1c), particularly patients with type 1 diabetes
The cost of diabetes to the NHS, 80% of which is the cost of treating the complications of diabetes
The rising rate of people being diagnosed with diabetes
The NHS recognises that diabetes has to evolve to keep up with the rising prevalence and impact of diabetes. One of the key areas of development includes a greater use of online systems to support diabetes management.
The action plan notes that a ‘customer service platform’ will be implemented to allow patients with diabetes to book appointments, manage prescriptions, monitor the care processes they have received and view personal health records.
Another area of focus is the recognition that diabetes care exists at a number of different levels, with the Action on Diabetes plan noting the differing needs of diabetes care at national, local and personal levels.
