NHS in Shropshire faces rising costs for diabetes medication

Telford & Wrekin’s clinical commissioning group spent £3.42m on prescribing medicines for the condition between April 2017 and March 2018, while Shropshire’s equivalent group spent £5.87m

In 2014-15, prescriptions cost £2.95m and £5.21m respectively.

Diabetes drugs accounted for more than a tenth of money spent on prescriptions in Shropshire. The charity Diabetes UK said the increasing expenditure on prescriptions was due to the rising number of diabetics.

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body either cannot produce insulin or cannot properly use it.

If not controlled, it can lead to heart attacks and strokes, and problems with the kidneys, eyes, feet and nerves.

Overall, the NHS paid for 268,000 prescriptions for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in Shropshire, for around 17,444 diabetic patients. In 2014-15, 18,000 fewer prescriptions were issued.

Robin Hewings, head of policy at the charity Diabetes UK, said: “The number of people diagnosed with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes has doubled in the last 20 years, so it’s no surprise that the cost of medications has increased.

Procedures

"The number of diabetes-related amputations in England is now at an all-time high, with more than 8,500 procedures being carried out each year. This equates to 24 minor and major amputations per day, or more than 160 a week.

“As well as helping people reduce their risk of diabetes through the NHS’s diabetes prevention programme, we should focus on spending more money now on helping people manage their diabetes well.”

Nationally, more than 90 per cent of people dealing diabetes have Type 2, which in some cases can be managed with physical activity or planning meals. Type 1 is always treated with insulin, although meal planning can also help to keep sugar at the right level.

The data also revealed that the NHS spent £1.86 million on insulin in Shropshire. Devices to monitor diabetic patients’ health, like glucose monitors or fitness trackers, cost £1.11 million. There are now more than three million people in England with diabetes.

Professor Jonathan Valabhji, national clinical director for diabetes and obesity of NHS England, said: “Thanks to better diagnosis and treatment, the NHS is caring for more people than ever before with diabetes and this new data highlights the urgent need to prevent Type 2 diabetes from developing in the first place.

“The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme has now reached over a quarter of a million people at high risk of Type 2 diabetes.”