John Austin

Labour Party | Erith and Thamesmead

John Austin MP backs Diabetes UK - Erith and Thamesmead MP joins charity to tackle patchy services for people with diabetes

Erith and Thamesmead MP, John Austin, is backing leading health charity Diabetes UK in calling for the Government to review its progress towards delivering on its own 2013 standards for diabetes services.

In 2003, the National Service Framework (NSF) for Diabetes set out a vision for diabetes services in England to be delivered by 2013. Half way through the ten year plan, Diabetes UK’s new ‘Five years on… Are we half way there?’ report reviews the NHS’s progress in achieving person-centred, co-ordinated care that aims to ensure fewer people develop diabetes and better care for those who have the condition. John Austin MP attended the launch of the new report at Westminster recently.

The report’s findings show that patchy NHS services are putting almost 1.9 million people with diabetes in England at increased risk of serious complications, some of which can reduce life expectancy, including heart disease, stroke and blindness.

John Austin MP said: “I fully support Diabetes UK’s call for the Government to conduct its own national review of progress made to date in delivering the 2013 NSF standards and targets. I would urge Bexley and Greenwich Primary Care Trusts to refocus energies to support what the NSF set out to achieve so people with diabetes receive the best care possible.”

The charity concludes that, while some people with diabetes in some parts of the country receive excellent care, many are still not benefiting from the effective delivery of diabetes services that the NSF set out to achieve. Many healthcare professionals and diabetes communities have been working hard to deliver high quality integrated care but, without local organisation and investment, efforts are often in vain.

Douglas Smallwood, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said: “It is not good enough that almost two million people with diabetes are facing an unnecessarily increased risk of life-threatening complications because of the Government’s failure to address the quality of diabetes services across the country. Action is needed today to safeguard the health and quality of life of everyone with diabetes in the future.

“There have been significant structural changes in the NHS in the past five years which need to be taken into account to ensure we have a relevant strategy in place to achieve the NSF’s standards and targets. The Government also needs to make Primary Care Trusts truly accountable for delivery of the NSF and challenge those not performing.”

Diabetes UK’s report found that, despite prevention being a key NSF objective, only one in 20 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) has a specific strategy for preventing Type 2 diabetes and obesity6. In addition, only 38 per cent of PCTs provide emotional and psychological support to adults with diabetes6 which is not conducive to the NSF’s aim of supporting and educating people to deal with their diabetes – after all, more than 95 per cent of diabetes management is self care. As only 27 per cent of the 1.9 million people with diabetes in England have the full range of care processes carried out each year6, more than 1.4 million are being put at increased risk of complications.

Moves such as Alan Johnson MP’s recent announcement of vascular screening to include diabetes are vital, as the report found that fewer PCTs (57 per cent) had an early identification programme for diabetes in place in 2007 than did in 2006 (60 per cent)6. There are an estimated 475,000 people in England with Type 2 diabetes who don’t yet know it, and failure to identify and treat them puts them, too, at increased risk of life-threatening complications.