Lack of care planning in the UK is failing people with diabetes and wasting precious NHS resources, suggest findings by Diabetes UK.
According to the charity’s annual diabetes survey, a shocking 65% of patients with diabetes do not have a personal care plan in place, potentially leaving them at greater risk from developing complications linked with the condition.
This is despite evidence that proper care planning can improve health outcomes, and a recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence that there should be a plan in place for every diabetes patient.
Care plans allow people to be much more involved in the management of their condition which, the charity points out, can help reduce the risk of serious complications such as kidney failure, amputations, stroke and heart attack.
And aside from the obvious detriment to health, it is the development of these complications that take up the lion’s share of costs associated with the disease; treating them accounts for 80% of the £10 billion per year the NHS spends on diabetes, but many could be prevented through better ongoing management of the condition.
As such, Diabetes UK is calling on NHS organisations to ensure everyone with diabetes has a personalised care plan, and is urging patients to make sure they are aware of the importance of care planning.
The charity has also launched an animation showing how people can get more involved in their diabetes care, which it plans to promote through social media, to help address the lack in awareness, a spokeswoman told PharmaTimes World News online.
There are around 3.8 million people who have diabetes in the UK.
