By Colin Kenny, GP, Dromore
The National Diabetes Audit (NDA) is an important survey conducted by the NHS’s Health and Social Care Information Centre that examines how many of the people with diabetes in England and Wales have the eight agreed care processes in diabetes fulfilled successfully. The 2014–15 audit found that less than two-fifths of people (38.7%) with type 1 diabetes underwent all of the eight tests recommended by NICE during the year. For type 2 diabetes the equivalent proportion was less than three-fifths (58.7%). These figures are the lowest since the NDA began in 2010.
The NDA also found that there has been a small rise in treatment target achievement rates (HbA1c, blood pressure and cholesterol). However, there remains room for improvement in the number of people meeting all three targets: 18.9% of those with type 1 diabetes and 41.0% of those with type 2 diabetes. It is also important to note that the number of GP practices participating in the audit is in rapid decline, down from 70% in 2012–13 to 57% in 2014–15. This may reflect the increasing administrative burden falling on UK general practices.
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