Diabetic Foot Care in Ireland Criticised

NewsBot · Sep 11, 2010

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Press Release:
Diabetes Action calls for National Strategy after spend of €239 million on preventable condition

Failure to develop specific health policies to manage diabetes care has led the HSE to spend over €239 million on in-patient costs treating largely preventable complications of diabetic foot disease between 2005 and 2009, according to Diabetes Action’s “Half the Services, Half the Care” advocacy and awareness campaign.

Diabetes Action, a newly founded advocacy group, launched its national “Half the Services, Half the Care” campaign today in a bid to influence government health policy which it says is failing to provide targeted services and care for Ireland’s growing diabetes community.

“As a result of undiagnosed and poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes people are needlessly developing foot complications, like ulcers, which too often lead to lower-limb amputations. Between 2005 and 2009 1,579 people with diabetes in Ireland underwent a below knee amputation and nearly 6,000 people with diabetes developed a foot ulcer requiring in-patient treatment”, said Dr. Ronan Canavan, Consultant Endocrinologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital.

With the lowest level of manpower in podiatry in Europe, Irish people with poorly controlled diabetes are uniquely vulnerable to developing preventable foot complications which can lead to amputation and lower limb-loss. There is no system in place to identifying or track at-risk people to ensure preventative measures are taken to stop diabetic foot complications before they can develop.

“Half the Services, Half the Care” is calling for 20 podiatrist positions nationally to work with people with diabetes and provide a national screening programme – the annual cost of these positions is just €1.56 million. The service would pay for itself on the basis of each podiatrist preventing only three in-patient foot ulcers treatments each year.

“The cost of treating diabetic foot disease in Irish hospitals is staggering. €239 million only covers the direct in-patient hospital costs – it doesn’t take account of the cost of dressings, antibiotics or social welfare - to say nothing of the personal costs of periods of immobility or loss of earnings. Our figures also indicate that close to 50% of people with diabetes who undergo a lower-limb amputation are of working age” according to Dr. Canavan.

“The HSE is not channelling the financial and human resources in the health system effectively to tackle diabetes. This year €580 million or 5% of the national health budget will be spent on diabetes care; 60% of that figure will be spent on treating preventable complications. A National Strategy for Diabetes would dramatically reduce inpatient costs and result in better health outcomes for people with diabetes” he concluded.

Dr. Canavan said that the HSE’s Audit Report on Diabetes, published this week, recorded a significant decrease in the prevalence of foot ulcers for patients with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes (2.5 % in 2009 compared with 6.1% in 2003). This improvement can be attributed to the implementation of an evidence based foot care protocol and increased numbers of patients having a regular foot assessment and review by a podiatrist.

“Half the Services, Half the Care” is calling for HSE resources to be redirected to provide a cost effective national foot screening programme which would identify people with an at-risk-foot. An annual check-up for people with Type 2 diabetes could reduce the cost of treating diabetic foot conditions by as much as 50% and potentially save the HSE over €115 million over a 5 year period.

Diabetes Action also launched its web-site http://www.diabetesaction.ie. The web-site is a targeted campaigning tool for the public to use during the two-year “Half the Services, Half the Care” advocacy initiative. DiabetesAction.ie allows people to contact their local politicians about local, regional and national health services which affect people with diabetes and asks politicians to lobby the HSE to develop and implement a National Diabetes Strategy
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NewsBot · Sep 13, 2010

The Independent are reporting:
Screening call as 1,500 diabetes sufferers lose limbs 'needlessly'

MORE than 1,500 people with diabetes have had lower limb amputations in recent years, new figures reveal.

And a leading surgeon last night said this radical surgery may have been preventable.

Dr Ronan Canavan, a consultant endocrinologist at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, said a lack of services to treat foot complications, which diabetes patients are prone to, was leading to needless lower limb amputations.

"As a result of undiagnosed and poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes, people are needlessly developing foot complications like ulcers, which too often lead to lower-limb amputations.

"Between 2005 and 2009, 1,579 people with diabetes in Ireland underwent a below-knee amputation and nearly 6,000 people with diabetes developed a foot ulcer requiring in-patient treatment," he added.

Mr Canavan was speaking at the launch of a campaign by Diabetes Action, a new advocacy group that is calling for a national strategy to improve services for growing numbers of people with the condition.

Ireland has the lowest level of foot specialists, known as podiatrists, in Europe.
Click to expand...

Full story

green feet · Sep 17, 2010

Interesting... im a post grad student in Cork, studying biomechanics of Diabetic foot using motion analysis, EMG and pressure distribution. finding it difficult to find collaborators.

Lack of Podiatrist huge issue in the south.

Diabetic Foot Care in Ireland Criticised

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Diabetic Foot Care in Ireland Criticised

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

green feet Welcome New Poster

MyFootCare: An application to actively engage people in their diabetic foot ulcer self-care

Palliative care needs in people with or at risk of developing diabetic foot ulcers

The war in Ukraine and diabetic foot care

Burden of Diabetic Foot Patients’ Caregivers

Utilisation of the 2019 IWGDF diabetic foot infection guidelines to benchmark diabetic foot care

Point of care ultrasound imaging as a wound assessment tool in diabetic foot ulcers

Home vs Hospital Care for Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Share This Page

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