New study highlights ‘postcode lottery’ for diabetes care

A new report from Diabetes UK has raised concerns about the variable quality of care diabetic people across the country receive.

The charity group's State of the Nation report has highlighted huge regional variations in people's ability to access quality integrated diabetes care across Britain. Those in the best-performing areas are four times more likely to receive the annual checks needed to manage their condition than in the worst performing locations.

In the top-ranked area, 28 per cent of diabetics have their condition under control, compared to only 17 per cent in the lowest-ranked region. Access to essential structured diabetes education schemes was also shown to be unequal.

The report also shows there has been little overall improvement in the standard of diabetes care in the last year, despite about ten per cent of the entire NHS budget being spent on the condition.

Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "After a year of significant turmoil, let's make 2014 the year when everyone with diabetes finally start getting the standards of healthcare they deserve."

In the UK, diabetes affects approximately 2.9 million people. There are also thought to be around 850,000 people with undiagnosed diabetes.