£983m NHS bill for diabetes drugs
Obesity blamed as prescriptions rocket by 80 per cent in 10 years
BRITAIN’S mounting diabetes crisis has seen the number of related prescriptions issued rocket 80 per cent in 10 years.
In the year to April, 52 million courses of medicine to treat diabetes were issued, up from 49.7 million in 2015-16 and 28.9 million in 2006-07.
Prescriptions for diabetes now cost the NHS £983million a year.
NHS Digital data also reveals that in the past 12 months, numbers grew more than twice as fast as the overall increase in prescriptions.
In 2016-17, diabetes accounted for around £1 in every £9 of the cost of medication prescribed by GPs.
In 2006-07 it was less than £1 in every £14. Campaigners say the statistics lay bare the scale of the health epidemic facing Britain.
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: “This rise in the diabetes drugs bill is another tragic consequence of successive governments failing to tackle obesity, a major trigger for Type 2.
“Since 82 per cent of obese children grow into obese adults, with a high percentage of them acquiring diabetes, you can bet on the drugs bill escalating exponentially. If nothing else breaks the NHS, this treatment will.”
Prescribing of metformin for diabetes has more than doubled from 9.4 million items in 2006-07 to 20.8 million items in 2016-17.
In Type 1 diabetes, the body naturally destroys its insulin-producing cells but Type 2 is largely caused by chronically unhealthy living.
Cases have spiralled as a result of sugary snacks – a case is diagnosed every two minutes. There have been calls for the condition to be renamed carbohydrate intolerance disease to reflect the impact of diet.
More than four million Britons are blighted by Type 2 and a further 12 million with unhealthy lives are at increased risk.
It means 25 per cent of the population has, or could develop, an illness that can lead to blindness, amputation, heart and kidney disease, strokes and even death.
Yesterday, Simon O’Neill, of Diabetes UK, said: “The number diagnosed with diabetes has risen by 54 per cent in the past decade, so it’s no surprise levels of prescribing have risen by almost the same level.
“Diabetes is one of our biggest health crises, and with 12 million people at risk of developing Type 2, it’s clear focusing on prevention is vital to prevent costs rising even higher.”
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “A rise in prescriptions can indicate both better identification of diabetes at an earlier stage and more comprehensive treatment according to latest guidelines but it is clear from these figures that more people are living with both Type 1 and Type 2 long-term and this poses major challenges for the NHS.
“Diabetes is a potentially debilitating disease that can lead to other serious conditions such as cardiovascular disease and longterm complications affecting the eyes, kidneys and nervous system so it’s important all our patients are given the most appropriate treatments.”