There has been significant progress made in the care provided to children with diabetes, but further improvement should still be sought, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found.
The Audit, performed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, found that 66% of young people underwent essential foot checks compared with 55% in the previous year. Additionally, 66% were screened for complications relating to their eyes (retinopathy screening), up from 64% in the previous year and 66% were screened for kidney complications, an improvement from 52% in the previous year.
A total of 28,439 children and young people with diabetes were included in the 2015/16 audit, an increase of 757 from 2014/15. The majority have Type 1 diabetes.
‘The fact that care for children with diabetes continues to significantly improve is excellent news and is what we aim to demonstrate when delivering this audit year on year,’ said Dr Justin Warner, clinical lead for the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit.
‘We want centres delivering paediatric diabetes care to learn from best practice, share good experience and improve results.’
‘It’s heartening to see continued investment in better services means more children with diabetes getting the essential care they’re entitled to,’ said Diabetes UK chief executive Chris Askew. ‘That’s reflected in a rise in the proportion of children with Type 1 who have really good diabetes control.’
However, the findings were not universally positive. According to the Audit, There is considerable variation in the provision of care in terms of outcomes. Additionally, 9.7% of young people with Type 1 diabetes have already shown early signs of kidney disease and 13.8% early signs of eye disease putting them at increased risk of kidney failure and blindness.
Furthermore, two thirds of young people aged 12 and above with Type 1 diabetes are not receiving all seven recommended health checks on an annual basis.
‘Not every child with diabetes in England and Wales gets the same level of good care, with unacceptable numbers of children living in deprived areas having poor diabetes control,’ added Mr Askew. ‘It’s vital every child with diabetes gets the support they need to manage their diabetes well.’