DIABETES UK - NHS missing chances to improve diabetes care and save money as well as lives
12 May 2014 11:24 AM
The NHS is failing to learn from clear evidence
that interventions to improve diabetes care can save the NHS money as well as
give people with diabetes longer and healthier lives, according to a new
Diabetes UK report that highlights a series of measures that improve care and
reduce costs.
The new report shows that while the NHS is
spending £10 billion per year on diabetes care, this money is too often
being used ineffectively, with the vast majority spent on treating
complications that could often have been prevented if the person had received
good healthcare in the first place.
In a period of tight financial restraints in
the NHS, the report, based on conclusive research based evidence,
outlines measures that Trust and commissioners can implement that have been
shown to improve the quality of care for people with diabetes and reduce
costs.
Examples include:
• Education can help people with diabetes effectively
manage the condition and so reduce their risk of costly and debilitating
complications. But just one in 10 of those newly diagnosed are offered
education. This is despite the fact that over a 10-year period, one structured
education programme saved an estimated £2,200 per patient.
• People with diabetes
are at risk of developing serious problems with their feet that lead to
amputation if not managed properly. The NHS is estimated to spend over
£600 million on foot care for people with diabetes. Trusts that have
introduced multidisciplinary foot care teams have reduced amputations by over
half and can save over four times their cost.
• One in every seven hospital beds is occupied by
someone with diabetes. Hospital in-patient care for people diabetes is
all too-often poor and is contributing hugely to costs to the NHS. People with
diabetes have a longer length of stay in hospital on average by three days and
regularly experience medical errors, especially medication errors, and
avoidable deterioration in their condition. Hospitals with specialist teams
have been shown to reduce complications and make financial savings.
"The NHS is spending an eye-watering
amount on diabetes"
The charity says that while it can be difficult to invest in one part of the
health service if the resulting savings are in another part, some of the
interventions highlighted in the report have been shown to make savings quickly
and in the same organisation.
Where the savings occur in different parts of the healthcare system to the one
the investment is made in, this underlines the need for more pooling of budgets
across primary, community and secondary care and more joint work between
commissioners and providers.
With the number of people with diabetes
projected to rise to 5 million by 2025, Diabetes UK says that the NHS needs to
get better at learning from evidence-based demonstrations of good diabetes care
and is calling on Trust and commissioners to implement the measures highlighted
in the report.
Barbara Young, Diabetes UK Chief Executive,
said: “The NHS is spending an eye-watering amount on diabetes but the
money isn’t being used effectively, which is running up a huge bill for
the future.
"Too often the focus is on cost
cutting"
“This report shows how dealing with problems early, such as by improved
inpatient care and effective care planning, costs could be greatly reduced and
more people would live longer and healthier lives.
“Too often, the focus is on cutting costs
in the short-term such as by cutting diabetes specialist nurses, restricting
access to blood glucose test strips and poorly planned transferrals to primary
care. But this is making it difficult for those with diabetes to manage the
condition and is offering poor value for money for taxpayers.”
"The NHS needs to implement the measures
highlighted in the report"
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