MPs highlight failure to increase the number of diabetes nurses

All clinical staff in English hospitals should be trained in diabetes care to make up for a shortfall in the number of diabetes specialists, which is ‘unlikely to rise in the short term’, a group of MPs has said. 

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has criticised weaknesses in NHS England’s and the Department of Health’s (DH) approaches to diabetes care in a report published today and based on evidence it has collected.

The committee concluded that diabetes specialist staffing levels in English hospitals are not keeping pace with the increasing percentage of beds occupied by diabetes patients.

It reported that nearly one third of hospitals that took part in an audit in 2013 had no diabetes inpatient specialist nurses.

Yet the percentage of acute hospital beds occupied by people with diabetes rose from 14.8% in 2010 to 15.7% in 2013.

NHS England told the committee that an increase in nursing numbers is unlikely over the next year or two.

The report recommended that, given this limitation on resources, NHS England should ‘ensure that all clinical staff have at least a basic level of training and knowledge about diabetes so that patients can receive the best care possible’.

It also states that NHS England and the DH have improved outcomes among diabetes patients since the committee last reported on diabetes in 2012. 

Significant variations in routine care, support and outcomes remain, however. 

The committee recommended that, by April, diabetes data should be used to identify clinical commissioning groups who are performing poorly compared with the national average, and that interventions should be established to help them improve. 

PAC chair Meg Hillier MP said: “The NHS and Department for Health have been too slow in tackling diabetes, both in prevention and treatment. 

‘The number of people with diabetes is increasing, as is the number of patients who develop complications. It is a serious condition that can have a huge impact on people’s lives. Yet support available to patients and those at risk varies hugely across the country.

‘There’s clear evidence of what works and, as a priority, action must be taken to ensure best practice in treatment and education is adopted across the board.’

The committee called on the DH and NHS England to put in place a timetable by July to reduce geographical variations and variations between different patient groups. 

A DH spokesperson said: 'The NHS has made big improvements in diabetes care by reducing mortality and complications arising from the disease, but as this report highlights, any variation in care is deeply concerning.

'That’s why we are creating a national diabetes prevention programme, the first of its kind in the world, so that people can avoid developing this devastating condition in the first place.'

A NHS England spokesperson said: ‘NHS diabetes care is better than ever, as even the committee themselves state when they report that "individual diabetes patients' prospects are getting better". But a fundamental challenge which the committee implicitly draw attention to is the obesity-fuelled jump in type 2 diabetes. This threatens to overwhelm GP services, and puts the spotlight firmly on the need for no-holds-barred national action on prevention by the NHS, government, employers, schools, and in particular the food industry.’

Read the PAC report here.