Diabetes Amputation Rates ‘Scandalous’ Says Shadow Health Minister

A health minister has hit out at “scandalous” variations in the amputation rates for diabetes sufferers in England.

Paul Burstow said eight out of 10 amputations are “unnecessary” and could have been avoided through better care.

The minister told the Commons that the Government is committed to seeing improvements in the treatment offered to sufferers. Amputations are performed when diabetics suffer damage to blood or nerve vessels as a result of their condition.

Labour’s Keith Vaz, who has type 2 diabetes, said there are “shocking” differences between parts of England and warned the Government’s health reforms could make the situation worse. He said: “There are shocking regional variations in diabetes care. Eighty per cent of amputations due to diabetes can be prevented with the right checks.”

In his Leicester East constituency, he told MPs the number of annual amputations per 1,000 adults with diabetes is 1.4, significantly below the national average of 2.7.

“However a sufferer who lives in Swindon is twice as likely to have an amputation,” he said, as the rate is four amputations per 1,000 diabetic adults.

Mr Vaz warned: “Changes in the Health and Social Care Bill will mean more power is devolved to a local level. I’m very concerned this may worsen regional inequalities.”

Mr Burstow said there is evidence of “unjustifiable variation in the levels of care and treatment from one postcode to another” but stressed “there has been significant progress”.

He acknowledged there is “still a scandalous picture when it comes to amputations in England” with variations from one part of the country to another which are “inexplicable and shocking”.

“We know that on average 73 amputations take place every week, that eight out of 10 of those operations are unnecessary because they could be prevented by simply following what we know works,” he said. “It’s getting those messages out and translating that into practice by clinicians that is absolutely key. Programmes like foot care, where a foot care team is established for a relatively modest investment, can see a fall in the rate of amputations by as much as 50%.”