One in five people may have diabetes and remain undiagnosed, according to the results of an audit of...
One in five people may have diabetes and remain undiagnosed, according to the results of an audit of diabetes care in Europe.
The findings, published by the Information Centre for Health and Social Care, showed that over 1.5 million people in the UK are missing out on their annual reviews, raising alarm bells throughout the healthcare sector.
Commenting on the results, Douglas Smallwood, chief executive at Diabetes UK, said: "Annual reviews are vital to pick up any health changes and signs of complications. This could mean that the right adjustments are not being made to medication and the first signs of serious health problems are not being picked up."
He added: "The audit highlights areas of care which are not up to scratch, but it is down to local Primary Care Trusts and the Government to act on this."
Other findings from the audit suggested that 88% of adults and 84% of children are not achieving recommended blood-glucose levels, putting them at risk of serious illnesses, including heart and kidney disease, blindness, strokes and amputations.
Another 39% of people with diabetes are not receiving regular eye screening for retinopathy, leaving them at risk of blindness. Many Primary Care Trusts are nowhere near to achieving the Government target of 70%.
The findings showed that more women are undiagnosed in this area than men, and it highlighted that this is particularly pertinent for the over-40 age group.
The news came just weeks after Diabetes UK's awareness campaign in Trafalgar Square, where a giant human tape-measure represented the estimated 750,000 people in the UK with type 2 diabetes that remain undiagnosed.
