Daily Mail

Hospitals where diabetes patients take up 1 in 4 beds

- By Sophie Borland and Kate Pickles

‘The NHS is under immense strain’

MORE than a quarter of beds in some hospitals are filled by patients with diabetes, shocking NHS figures reveal.

In a major hospital trust in Manchester, nearly a third of patients on wards had the condition. A London hospital said 27 per cent of beds were occupied by diabetes patients.

Five other trusts across England said patients with the illness accounted for at least a quarter of beds at any one time.

The NHS Digital figures expose the impact that diabetes – which costs taxpayers £14 billion a year – is having on the creaking Health Service, with experts saying it is the ‘biggest health crisis of our time’. There are an estimated 4 million cases in Britain – double the number of 20 years ago.

Of those, 90 per cent have type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity. Another million people are thought to be living with the condition but do not know they have it.

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said the figures were ‘truly shocking’ and should act as a wake-up call.

Diabetics tend to stay in hospital for longer compared to others because their recovery time is slower and they are more prone to infections. Mr Fry said: ‘People must remember that 90 per cent of these diabetic patients acquired the disease through being obese.

‘It should be enough to prompt every individual to really consider eating healthily and as a sharp reminder that the Government needs to give people ample support to achieve healthy lifestyles.’ Emily Watts, Diabetes UK’s inpatient programme manager, said: ‘Over a million people with diabetes spend time in hospital every year, and many of these – whatever the reason for their time in hospital – will experience a problem with their diabetes care.

‘The result is longer hospital stays, and patients worried that their health could be being put at risk.

‘The NHS is under immense strain... but the number of diabetes inpatients receiving inadequate levels of care is a clear reflection that more must be done to make hospitals safe for those living with the condition.’

Nationally, about 18 per cent of hospital beds are occupied by diabetes patients at any one time. This has risen from 15 per cent since 2011, although the numbers are far higher in certain hotspots in the country.

The NHS Digital figures are taken from a snapshot survey of hospitals over four days in September 2017.

While some diabetes patients may have been admitted due to complicati­ons caused by the illness, others will have been in for unrelated reasons.

Complicati­ons can be serious and include kidney disease, liver disease, strokes, heart attacks, blindness and nerve damage to the feet.

The highest prevalence was recorded by the Manchester University Hospitals where 29 per cent of beds were occupied by patients with diabetes.

Figures were 27 per cent at the Hillingdon Hospitals in west London, 26 per cent at City Hospital in Birmingham and just over 25 per cent at the Ealing Hospital, also in west London.

Bedford Hospital and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, Cumbria, reported rates of exactly 25 per cent.

There is growing evidence that diabetes can be reversed if patients lose weight. The NHS is carrying out a pilot involving patients being given soups and shakes, totalling 850 calories a day, for five months. If deemed a success, the regime will be expanded across the country.

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