500 people with diabetes ‘dying prematurely every week’

Five hundred people with diabetes are dying prematurely every week in England and Wales, with many of these deaths caused by avoidable complications, a charity has warned.

Diabetes UK said complications such as amputations, sight loss, kidney disease, stroke and heart disease, are preventable if patients are supported to manage their diabetes effectively.

The figure of 500 comes from analysis of the most recent NHS National Diabetes Audit report on complications and mortality, which also shows that men and women between the ages of 35 and 64 living with type 1 diabetes are three to four times more likely to die prematurely than those without the condition.

Men and women in the same age range who have type 2 diabetes are up to two times more likely to die prematurely.

The most common complications of diabetes which can lead to early death are stroke and cardiovascular disease.

Every week in the UK, 680 people suffer a stroke as a complication of diabetes, with one in five strokes caused by diabetes.

The charity said 530 people suffer a diabetes-related heart attack and there are around 2,000 cases of diabetes-related heart failure.

Since 2017, the NHS Diabetes Transformation Fund has invested more than £80 million across England to improve the care people with diabetes receive.

Diabetes UK is calling on NHS England to continue its action to improve the quality of local diabetes services beyond 2019, to curb the growing numbers of people dying prematurely because of diabetes.

The charity’s chief executive, Chris Askew, said: “Five hundred preventable, premature deaths each week is a harrowing statistic that highlights how serious diabetes can be.

“It’s vital that this seriousness is recognised, and that the NHS continues to fund improvements to diabetes care beyond 2019, as it has been doing through the Diabetes Transformation Fund.

“The importance of helping people with diabetes avoid preventable complications, which can often lead to death, cannot be overstated.

“If we want to reduce the number of people with diabetes dying early and unnecessarily the investment and work started in 2017 needs to be continued.

“Progress is being made and shouldn’t stop now, to ensure the benefits of transformation are fully realised.”

A spokesman for NHS England said: “These important statistics are exactly why NHS England has invested £80 million in the last two years to improve the treatment, care and outcomes for people with diabetes.

“As we draw up the long term plan for the NHS, we will be building on the success of our existing work to reduce variation and ensure services are available to help prevent the complications associated with diabetes.”