Diabetes: Health Services

In England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends that people with diabetes are offered eight annual care processes in primary care, those being measurement of HbA1c, lipids, creatinine, albuminuria, blood pressure and body mass index, ascertainment of smoking status, and examination of the feet, to assess modifiable risk factors and facilitate the early identification of diabetic complications. These annual diabetes reviews are associated with reduced emergency admissions, amputations, retinopathy, and mortality.

In addition to these health checks, the National Health Service is working to provide eligible patients with diabetes access to technologies which have been shown to improve diabetes care. Data from the National Diabetes Audit suggests that the number of people with type 2 diabetes using continuous glucose monitoring is increasing. In 2022/23, 37,000 people were using continuous glucose monitoring, rising to 95,000 people in 2023/24, and to 155,000 people in 2024/25. Metrics that are useful for health systems to monitor access to glucose monitoring will be published later this year.