Ongoing pandemic disruption causing 7,000 diabetes deaths per year

As many as 7,000 people in England with diabetes are dying unnecessarily each year because of post-pandemic backlogs, delays, and disruption, the charity Diabetes UK has warned.

Barely half (47%) of people living with diabetes in England received all eight of their required health checks in 2021 and 2022, the charity has said, meaning 1.9 million people may not be receiving the care they need and, potentially, many thousands of excess deaths.

In the report, Diabetes Care: Is it fair enough?, the charity gauged the state of diabetes care in England post-pandemic and laid bare a landscape of missed checks, disrupted care and health inequalities.

People with diabetes should expect to receive routine diabetes care, which includes a series of checks every year for things such as blood sugar and blood pressure.

Receiving all of these checks is shown to reduce the risk of complications such as heart disease, hospitalisation and premature death, the charity has said.

But the report concluded that diabetes deaths are up by 7,000 a year compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The charity has said it fears this increase may be linked to the backlog in routine diabetes care caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The number of excess deaths in 2022 rose by 13% from pre-pandemic levels. There were also 1,461 excess deaths in the first three months of 2023, a figure three times as high as the same period last year.

People with diabetes are also experiencing a growing postcode lottery, the report concluded, with one in three people in the most deprived areas saying they found it difficult to contact their diabetes healthcare team in 2022, compared to one in four in the least deprived.

One type 1 diabetes patient, Anthony Parker, 44, from Berkshire, described his experience to the charity: “Back in January 2020 I was due a check-up, but the appointment was cancelled and moved to March for a telephone appointment. This happened again and again, and I didn’t receive any further communication about appointments after that.

“I believe the lack of contact and support contributed to me developing retinopathy as I didn’t have an eye appointment for two years,” he said.

Chris Askew, Diabetes UK chief executive, said: “Diabetes is relentless, and people living with diabetes need the close support and monitoring of healthcare professionals. This routine care can be lifesaving, and help prevent other serious complications such as amputations, strokes and heart disease.

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“Yet far too many people with diabetes are being left to go it alone managing this challenging and potentially fatal condition, with deeply alarming numbers of checks either missed or delayed.

“We know health professionals are working incredibly hard to give people the care they need, but they are just too stretched to provide the time and personalised support that is required – and it’s having a catastrophic impact. The government must commit to tackling this diabetes care crisis in its Major Conditions Strategy, while local health systems should make it a priority in their plans,” Askew added.