The 12th annual audit, which looked at data from all 27 682 children and young people with diabetes who attended paediatric diabetes units in England and Wales between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015, showed that median HbA1c has fallen for the fifth consecutive year to 66.5 mmol/mol (8.2%). Furthermore, the proportion of children achieving the old NICE CG15 target HbA1c of 58 mmol/mol (7.5%) has increased to 23.5% from 18.4% in the previous year.
The report also showed that:
- 98.7% of children and young people had their HbA1c measured in the audit year.
- Nearly two thirds (64.9%) of young people with diabetes over the age of 12 had their eyes screened.
- Just over half (52.4%) were checked for urinary albumin.
- 11.6% of young people are at increased risk of kidney disease and 13.2% at increased risk of blindness.
- Children with type 1 diabetes more likely to be overweight or obese compared to the general population.
Commenting on the findings, Dr Justin Warner, Clinical Lead for the NPDA, said: “It is extremely rewarding for doctors and patients to see positive results starting to emerge after the time they have spent trying to improve diabetes care for children. The rate of improvement seen in England and Wales has exceeded that seen in some other European countries.” However, he noted the low rates of health checks being carried out, as well as marked variation in care according to geographical area. “We will not rest on our laurels, as the variability in outcomes seen across the two nations remains excessive and ongoing improvements are still required.” He added: “We now call on commissioners to ensure paediatric diabetes units have the resources in place in order to provide high-quality care for all children, regardless of postcode. To improve better overall diabetes control and reduce the number of young people developing serious complications, we also call on staff in paediatric diabetes units to strive further to ensure all health care checks are recorded and adequate screening is in place.”
The full report can be accessed here.
