Department of Health and Social Care
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Working with the patient - the future for high quality diabetes services
NHS must deliver joined up diabetes care and improve patient knowledge in order to continue progressing
Partnerships between patients and clinicians are as important as those between primary and secondary care in providing high quality diabetes services, according to a report out today.
There are an estimated 2.35 million people living with diabetes in the England - and this is set to rise to 2.5 million by 2010, due to an ageing population and a rise in obesity.
The report by Dr Sue Roberts, the National Clinical Director for Diabetes, says that innovative ways of delivering services and more joined up care in community settings is vital for the NHS to continue to provide first-rate services to the growing number of people with diabetes. For example, moving overbooked annual assessments with long waiting lists out of hospitals and in to GP surgeries means more comprehensive check-ups, less duplication of tests and a more convenient service for people with diabetes.
Dr Sue Roberts, National Clinical Director for Diabetes, said:
"There have been significant improvements in diabetes services in recent years, but we cannot afford to stand still - to continue to provide first-class care to an increasing number of people, services need to evolve.
"Self-management is key for people with diabetes to have control over their everyday lives. In any year, the average person with diabetes will spend three hours being cared for by a healthcare professional and 8,757 hours looking after themselves, so the NHS also needs to engage patients - helping them to get the skills and confidence they need to control their own diabetes.
"Redesigning health systems is about achieving better quality care - we want to give the growing number of people with diabetes in England the best, most joined-up care possible. We know that this works, because there are examples of where it is already happening - but the challenge to the NHS is to make sure that this care is available for everyone."
Speaking at the Long Term Conditions Alliance Conference, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said:
"NHS diabetes services have already progressed enormously in recent years. Investment has increased: £3.5bn of NHS money is spent on diabetes every year - that equates to about £9.6m a day or £111 every second. We are making significant progress towards identifying the previously estimated 'missing million' people with diabetes. 250,000 of these have now been identified - around 2,000 people are diagnosed each week, and can start getting access to the care and support they need.
"People have told us they want more information and more support to help them control and improve their health. That's why we are changing the way we provide care.
"There are already excellent examples of putting the patient in control - such as the example in Northumbria, where people with diabetes are sent test results prior to care planning appointments, which then revolve around the patient's goals and how the healthcare system can collaborate and support them.
"Future good practice should see newly diagnosed people put in the driving seat right away, backed by a multi-disciplined primary care team and a programme of care tailored around their needs."
Diabetes is exceptional in the number and range of healthcare professionals involved in helping people to manage their diabetes - as well as specialists, the roles played by GPs, practice nurses, ophthalmologists and podiatrists are essential. This makes it all the more important that everyone involved in an individual's care are working together.
But one of the most important aspects of care is the role played by the patient themselves. Currently, only one in ten people with diabetes has been on an education course - increasing this is fundamental to the NHS working in partnership with patients.
Dr Roberts added:
"I would urge the NHS to think radically about new approaches to care - not just tweaking existing systems - to ensure that NHS services now and in the future are able to cope with increased demand, delivering consistently high quality care and working with patients to determine the best approach for their care."
Notes to Editors:
1. Progress in Diabetes Services - key points:
Five per cent of NHS budget is spent on treating diabetes and its
complications. This equates to approximately:
£3.5bn a
year
£67.3m a week
£9.6m a day
£400,000 an
hour
£6,700 a minute
£111 a second
The Quality and Outcomes Framework is helping GPs to diagnose more people with diabetes. In the last twelve months alone over 100,000 extra people have been diagnosed - that an extra 2000 people every week that are receiving NHS treatment and support they need.
A recent Healthcare Commission survey showed that 80% of people are being offered retinopathy screening - and we expect this to rise to 100% by the end of the year.
£27m has been made available to fund the purchase by the National Health Service (NHS) of digital cameras to screen people with diabetes for the signs of diabetic eye disease. Through this screening programme, as many as 1,000 people a year could be prevented from going blind or having their sight impaired.
2. The report will be published on the DH website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/diabetes
3. Enquiries to 020 7210 4850.
