What are the 15 healthcare essentials?

The 15 healthcare essentials are the basic health checks that everyone with diabetes – whether Type 1 or Type 2 – should receive.

Based on official NHS guidance across the UK, the 15 healthcare essentials checklist (PDF, 164KB) sets out the minimum standard of care that people with diabetes need to help manage their condition.

Having all the relevant checks each year is vital to helping people with diabetes enjoy long and healthy lives free from serious complications.

With the 15 healthcare essentials, we aim:

• to help people with diabetes to influence their own care
• to build a national picture to strengthen the case for healthcare improvements in the UK.

Help support the campaign

Since its launch, the checklist has reached over one million people with diabetes.

Available in nine languages, it’s a handy reminder of the basic care people with diabetes should receive. The checklist is also great to take along to health appointments because it’s a good tool people can use when asking their healthcare professional about any checks they haven’t had.

Don’t settle for anything less

If you aren’t getting any of the checks, make sure you ask for them. You can ask your doctor, nurse, specialist or any healthcare professional you see about your diabetes care. Take the checklist with you and use it as a tool for the conversation.

Our guide, Are You Really Getting Your 15? (PDF, 219KB) tells you what each check should look like, and has tips for what you can do if there are any health checks you haven’t had this year.

Share the 15 healthcare essentials

Tell other people with diabetes about the 15 healthcare essentials. If you're on Facebook or Twitter, you can also like or share this page with your friends and family to help make sure as many people as possible know about the diabetes care they should be receiving.