Poor delivery of life-saving education to people with diabetes is fuelling serious health complications, premature deaths and unsustainable costs to the NHS, according to a new Diabetes UK report.

The report (which can be accessed here) reveals that only 2 per cent of people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 6 per cent of people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in England and Wales were recorded as attending a diabetes education course, covering how to effectively manage their condition.

The report also finds that just 41 per cent of people with type 2 diabetes and 19 per cent of those with type 1 diabetes are meeting their targets for blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol – essential for reducing risk of complications.

Diabetes UK is calling for improvements to the delivery of diabetes education courses so that at least half of people with diabetes receive education over the next five years.

The charity has welcomed NHS England’s new ratings system that will see clinical commissioning groups being assessed on the numbers of diabetes patients achieving recommended treatment targets and the numbers of people newly diagnosed with the disease attending an education course.