Warning to 60,000 Scots on dangers of diabetes

Published on Friday 13 November 2009 21:22

ALMOST 60,000 diabetics in Scotland are at risk of blindness, heart disease and kidney failure because their condition is not properly controlled, campaigners have warned.

Diabetes UK said research showed 34 per cent of diabetics were not hitting recommended blood glucose levels, putting them at risk of devastating health problems, the charity warns on World Diabetes Day today.

Experts said the failure to control blood glucose levels was a combination of lack of education and support by the health services and patients being unaware of the consequences.

But doctors said good support was available to those with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and most sufferers successfully controlled their condition.

The latest research involved analysing data from GP practices involving more than 2.3 million people with diabetes in the UK.

Experts recommend blood glucose levels between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent

Across the UK, 797,067 people with diabetes did not achieve this, the research found, including 58,092 in Scotland.

This meant 34 per cent did not reach the target.

Diabetics in Grampian (42 per cent), Highland and Argyll (37 per cent) and Borders (37 per cent) had the worst rates of control.

Jane-Claire Judson, director of Diabetes UK Scotland, said: "It's terrible that so many people aren't receiving the education, care and support they need to manage their diabetes.

"It is vital that all of the people with diabetes across Scotland are armed with the knowledge and confidence to manage their diabetes effectively.

"Diabetes UK Scotland is calling for better support for people with diabetes.

"People make decisions about their diabetes management every day and want to maintain an independent, healthy and active life. If they need support to achieve this, it should be widely available."

Some patients with Type 1 diabetes may benefit from using an insulin pump, which releases a steady flow of insulin into the body to help control glucose levels. But access to the pumps on the NHS is mixed and campaigners have called for wider use.

Dean Marshall, chair of the British Medical Association's Scottish GPs' committee, said the figures showed that the vast majority of patients had their glucose under control.

"It is extremely difficult to get people down to the levels we are trying to get them down to," he said."The majority of people are well-controlled.

"We are doing very well but we could do better.

"Patients do receive good advice and education about managing their condition.

It is difficult to get people to realise the consequences of not taking medication if they are feeling well."

Zoe Harrison: Sufferers' complex balancing act needs the right support

MANAGING diabetes is a complex issue. Trying to keep your blood glucose levels under control on a day-to-day basis is a challenge. It is about balancing your diet with your lifestyle and activity levels, but also with your medication.

Because you are effectively managing it yourself 24 hours a day, it is important that people with diabetes get the education and support and information that they need. It seems there is great disparity across the country and even within particular regions as to whether people are getting the right support for them.

Although some areas provide excellent diabetes care, we want people with diabetes to get greater access to support from the NHS everywhere.

There is a potentially an issue where younger people do not understand the need to control their condition because of the possible consequences in the future. If they feel well, they may not realise that the actions they take now could affect their long-term health.

But it is not just younger people. Diabetes is a life-long condition. From diagnosis you are faced with the rest of your life of coping with the condition and the idea of having complications may not feel like a possibility.

&#149 Zoe Harrison is a care adviser at Diabetes UK.