NHS errors posed ‘serious risk’ to diabetics

NHS HOSPITAL blunders put more than 260,000 diabetes patients at risk of lasting harm or death last year, a study has found.

Diabetes UK said that of these, 9,600 inpatients experienced a serious and potentially life-threatening episode of hypoglycaemia because of poor insulin management during their hospital stay.

More than a million people with diabetes were admitted to hospital last year and one in six hospital beds are currently occupied by people with the disease. This number is expected to rise to one in four by 2030.

The report was compiled from visits to hospitals where the authors spoke to patients, inpatient teams, healthcare professionals and hospital managers.

The charity said it is now calling for hospitals to adopt six key requirements that would make them safe for people with diabetes, lead to better patient experiences and shorter lengths of stay. Inpatients have higher infection rates and longer lengths of stay (one to three days longer than patients without diabetes), leading to greater NHS spending and workload.

Diabetes inpatient care costs the NHS £2.5billion a year – 11 per cent of the annual inpatient budget.

Diabetes UK said adopting its recommendations and having the right workforce in place could significantly reduce NHS spending and alleviate the strain on services. For example, investing £5million on new diabetes inpatient specialist nursing services in 54 trusts would yield savings of £14million a year, a net saving of £9million annually.

It also suggests better training for healthcare professionals to help them understand diabetes and more support to help hospitals learn from mistakes.

Emily Watts, the charity’s inpatient programme manager and co-author of the report, said: “That 9,600 people are experiencing a severe, potentially lifethreatening episode of hypoglycaemia because of inadequate care while in hospital, a place where people should feel supported and safe, is shocking and unacceptable.

“We hope our report will serve as a wake-up call and lead to system-wide changes that can make hospitals safe for people living with diabetes.

“Over a million people with diabetes spend time in hospital every year. It’s essential that hospitals are safe places for each and every one of these people. But the sad truth is that currently not all of them are.

“Everything recommended in our report already exists in certain hospitals across England. We want hospitals to stop working alone and start learning from each other’s successes.”

Chris Askew, Diabetes UK chief executive, said: “We will continue to work for better care for people with diabetes until every patient feels safe in hospital, from the time of admission to the point of discharge.”