Diabetics die through lack of care, say MPs

Patients with diabetes are developing potentially life-threatening complications because they are not receiving the straightforward care and support they need, MPs have warned.

Every year, 24,000 people with diabetes die simply because their disease has not been effectively managed, according to the Public Accounts Committee. Unless diabetes care in the NHS improves “significantly” patients will continue to die prematurely.

In a highly critical report on the management of adult diabetic services in the NHS, MPs also claim that patients face a postcode lottery of treatment.

Fewer than half of patients receive the recommended levels of care, including nine basic checks which reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications such as blindness, amputation or kidney disease.