A major report launched in parliament on 24 January 2007 shows the overall state of diabetes services across the UK.
The report, ‘Diabetes: State of the Nations 2006’, is only the second report of its kind, enabling a comparison in the performance of the NHS between 2005 and 2006.
Some services such as retinal screening are improving but there are still gaps in many areas.
For instance, four out of five children still have poor diabetes control, meaning they may be at high risk of developing serious health problems.
The current cash crisis within the NHS means that in almost every region in England there has been an increase in the number of children to each Paediatric Diabetes Specialist Nurse (PDSN).
“This is an extremely valuable report as it allows us to identify gaps in service provision, said Douglas Smallwood, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK.
"We are very concerned that some children are struggling to see a specialist nurse. With the inevitable explosion of children with Type 2 diabetes, additional resources are needed or nurses will be faced with ever increasing caseloads."
In services for children, Diabetes UK are calling for:
- further investment to support PDSNs and provide emotional and psychological support for children and their parents
- stronger links between specialist diabetes teams and schools to ensure that children and young people get the additional support they need
- greater efforts to ensure the transfferal of children to adult services is smooth.
To find out about how other services are faring, download a copy of the report from the Related information box (right).
And to find out more about diabetes care in your area, visit the Diabetes Infobank.