WIREDGOV

Responding to a new Diabetes UK report, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, the Local Government Association's Portfolio Holder for Community and Wellbeing, said: "The figures are alarming and confirm that diabetes is one of the fastest growing health challenges facing the United Kingdom today.

If we are to curb this growing health crisis and see a reduction in the number of people dying from diabetes and its complications, we need to increase awareness of the risks, bring about wholesale changes in lifestyle, improve self-management among people with diabetes and improve access to integrated diabetes care services.

"By working together to increase awareness and provide appropriate education for anyone involved in diabetes care we can improve quality of life for those with diabetes."

View report: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/What-we-say/Statistics/State-of-the-Nation-2016-Time-to-take-control-of-diabetes/

Notes to Editors

If left untreated, diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness, amputations and kidney failure.

The report from Diabetes UK, State of the Nation 2016: Time to take control of diabetes, states that ‘over three million people are living with diabetes in England. It is estimated that the NHS spends about £10 billion on diabetes every year'.

• Five million people in England are at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes
• People with diabetes have about twice the risk of developing a range of cardiovascular diseases (including heart disease and stroke) compared with people who do not have diabetes
• There are over 7,000 diabetes related amputations every year in England