Specialists call for overhaul of inefficient diabetes care system

DIABETES specialists have called for a radical overhaul of what it describes as the State’s current shorted-sighted, costly and inefficient system of diabetes care.

Life-threatening complications of diabetes, such as heart disease and stroke, are costing taxpayers almost €600 million annually.

Doctors believe, however, that costly interventions could be largely avoided if the Government adopted a preventative approach to the disease.

About 250,000 people in Ireland have diabetes and it is believed a further 100,000 have blood/glucose levels that are higher than normal.

Prof John Nolan of St James’s Hospital, Dublin; Dr Domhnall O’Halloran of Cork University Hospital; Prof TJ McKenna of St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin and Dr Richard Firth of Mater Hospital, Dublin, want the Government to urgently re-evaluate its diabetes policy.

They have stressed that early intervention in type-2 diabetes, now being seen in children, was critical.

Speaking yesterday on the eve of World Diabetes Day, Prof Nolan warned that diabetes was set to be the next healthcare crisis.

“If the Health Service Executive is seeking to save money, it must re-direct substantial resources to frontline care and focus on long term preventative measures,” he said.

Despite the huge increase in type-2 diabetes, investment increases have been minimal, leaving Ireland lagging behind its EU counterparts.

“A preventative approach, including increased investment in improved access for Irish patients to diabetes specialists, would be far more cost-effective in managing this disease as well as offering more effective treatment to the growing number of new type-2 patients,” said Prof Nolan.

Treating diabetes is expensive. A recent study found that diabetes costs €2,468 perpatient in Ireland, or €580m every year.

The CODEIRE study, led by Prof Nolan, also showed that two-thirds of current diabetes expenditure is on high cost complications of the disease.

According to the International Diabetes Federation the incidence of diabetes is expected to rise by about 70% worldwide by 2025 with Irelandlikely to experience a similar increase.

Type-2 diabetes is by far the most prevalent form, accounting for about 90% of cases worldwide.

The Diabetes Federation of Ireland said the study also showed that two-thirds of managing type-2 diabetes in Ireland was for treating hospitalised patients who had developed diabetic complications.

Federation manager Kieran O’Leary said resources needed to be channelled into earlier outpatients interventions and preventative measures to avoid life-threatening and costly complications.