End postcode lottery in diabetes care, say nurses

A postcode lottery exists in diabetes care resulting in some patients receiving regular monitoring of the blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol levels, but others having it rarely – a diabetes nurse specialist has said.

Helen Atkins’ comments follow the publication of a study by the Diabetes UK charity highlighting that about 200,000 people in England and Wales with diabetes also have serious complications such as heart attack, stroke and amputation.

Diabetes UK said that some of these conditions could be avoided if people with diabetes had closer monitoring of their blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol levels – and prompt treatment when these levels are outside safe limits.

Ms Atkins, a diabetes nurse specialist at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Foundation Trust, said: 'Practice nurses in some parts of the UK are so busy that they cannot monitor patients closely enough. But patients also have to take some responsibility, because they sometimes neglect to come in for appointments for checks on blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

‘I’ve listened to practice nurses and there are tremendous differences between, say, Manchester, Derby and Cambridge. Practice nurses are not allocated enough slots to monitor all the patients. They might book in a patient for tests on hyper tension, but there is a shortage of time to do the other tests. If they book a patient back, they find that sometimes that patient doesn’t bother attending because they don’t think it’s important.’

Diabetes UK is calling for the government and the NHS to do more to ensure everyone with diabetes gets the care and support they need to be able to take control of the condition and reduce their risk of complications.

Diabetes UK chief executive Barbara Young said: 'With the numbers of people with diabetes rising at an alarming rate, it is vital that the government and the NHS act urgently to end the postcode lottery of diabetes care and ensure that all people living with diabetes get the support and care they need to live long healthy lives.'