By Fewer North East Lincolnshire diabetes patients getting important health checks
Fewer diabetes patients in North East Lincolnshire received important annual health checks in 2021 than before the coronavirus pandemic.
Diabetes UK said missing health checks can be “absolutely devastating” and can lead to to life-altering complications and early death.
New figures have been released as Diabetes Awareness Week aims to inform the almost 5 million people with diabetes in the UK about the health risks.
Diabetes patients are expected to undergo eight annual health checks, including analysing their body mass index, smoking status, blood pressure and cholesterol.
NHS Digital figures show just 20% of 165 type 1 diabetes patients registered with GPs in the North East Lincolnshire area received all eight health checks in 2021.
For the 3,195 type 2 patients in the region, this figure rose to 31%, but was still down on pre-pandemic levels of 47%.
Nationally, just 26% of type 1 and 39% of type 2 patients completed the eight checks – down from 31% and 50% in 2019.
An NHS-commissioned report said more than 3,000 people with diabetes in England died during the pandemic due to the drastic drop in patients receiving their annual check-ups.
The study measured a 15-week period in summer 2021 against the same period in 2019.
One of the authors of the report, Jonathan Valabhji, the NHS’s national clinical director for diabetes and obesity, said the research “highlights the importance of annual reviews and ongoing supported management for people living with diabetes to manage their condition well”.
Diabetes UK said the lack of patients receiving necessary checks is hugely concerning and called on the Government to address the growing backlog.
Helen Kirrane, head of policy, campaigns and mobilisation at the charity, said: “While the UK Government was focused on cutting waiting lists for operations and other planned care, people with diabetes were pushed to the back of the queue.
“Urgent action is now required, which is why we’re calling on the UK Government to prioritise the recovery of diabetes care and to recommit to improving outcomes for people with and at risk of diabetes.”
The Department for Health and Social Care said getting diabetes patients back into routine care is “essential for effectivetreatment and management”.
A spokesperson said: “The NHS is supporting local systems with £36 million in funding to help them increase uptake and tackle health inequalities, and last year, the number of diabetes patients receiving all eight care processes increased by nearly a third compared to the year before.”
