Diabetes UK: Diabetes causes 100 amputations a week - Diabetes amputees converge on Body Worlds exhibition to campaign for improved foot services

Tuesday, 16 June 2009 12:00 AM

Leading health charity Diabetes UK brought together 100 people, including 20 diabetes amputees, at 11am on Tuesday 16 June at the 'Body Worlds and Mirror of Time' exhibition¹ at London's O2 Arena for a photo call to highlight the fact that diabetes causes 100 amputations a week in the UK².

The charity is calling on hospitals and primary care organisations to adopt the recommendations set out in a new Diabetes UK/NHS Diabetes report, 'Putting Feet First'. The report calls for primary care organisations to work with hospitals and community services to ensure people with diabetes have their feet examined at least once a year, to be told if their feet are 'At Risk', and what to do to reduce the risk of infection. The report also calls for people with diabetes admitted to hospital for any reason to have their feet examined, and protected, and if they develop any foot problems to have it assessed by a doctor, nurse or podiatrist within 24 hours.

Diabetes is the leading cause of lower-limb amputation in the world and around 5,000 people with diabetes undergo leg, foot or toe amputations each year in the UK, equivalent to 100 a week. One in three people with diabetes do not realise that having the condition puts them more at risk of having an amputation.³ £600m each year goes on treating foot problems in people with diabetes, and at least £252m of this is spent on amputation.4

People with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are at risk of damage to the nerves (neuropathy) and blood supply (ischaemia) to their feet. Both neuropathy and ischaemia can lead to foot ulcers and slow-healing wounds which, if they become infected, can result in amputation. However, researchers estimate that between 49 per cent and 85 per cent of all diabetic amputations can be prevented.5 By keeping blood glucose, blood cholesterol and blood pressure under control people with diabetes can help to prevent complications associated with the feet.

AMPUTEES:-

Philip French, Enfield

Anna Levis, Dagenham

Gail Wellings, High Wycombe

Steve Graham, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire

Roger Lewis, Watford

John Perry, Acton, London

Trevor Whiteside, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim

Raymond Parker, Hailsham, East Sussex

Terry Blackburn, Balmoral, Belfast

Robert Carew-Hunt, Wimbledon Park, London

Amanda Johnson, Beckton, London

Jim Caldwell, Coatbridge, Lanarkshire

Chris Brown, Bristol

Christine Taylor, Sidcup, Kent

Iain Spence, Blairgowrie, Scotland

Julie Pope, Milton Keynes

Fiona King, Canterbury

BACKGROUND:

Leading health charity Diabetes UK brought together 100 people, including 20 diabetes amputees, at 11am on Tuesday 16 June at the 'Body Worlds and Mirror of Time' exhibition¹ at London's O2 Arena for a photo call to highlight the fact that diabetes causes 100 amputations a week in the UK².

The charity is calling on hospitals and primary care organisations to adopt the recommendations set out in a new Diabetes UK/NHS Diabetes report, 'Putting Feet First'. The report calls for primary care organisations to work with hospitals and community services to ensure people with diabetes have their feet examined at least once a year, to be told if their feet are 'At Risk', and what to do to reduce the risk of infection. The report also calls for people with diabetes admitted to hospital for any reason to have their feet examined, and protected, and if they develop any foot problems to have it assessed by a doctor, nurse or podiatrist within 24 hours.

Diabetes is the leading cause of lower-limb amputation in the world and around 5,000 people with diabetes undergo leg, foot or toe amputations each year in the UK, equivalent to 100 a week. One in three people with diabetes do not realise that having the condition puts them more at risk of having an amputation.³ £600m each year goes on treating foot problems in people with diabetes, and at least £252m of this is spent on amputation.4

People with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are at risk of damage to the nerves (neuropathy) and blood supply (ischaemia) to their feet. Both neuropathy and ischaemia can lead to foot ulcers and slow-healing wounds which, if they become infected, can result in amputation. However, researchers estimate that between 49 per cent and 85 per cent of all diabetic amputations can be prevented.5 By keeping blood glucose, blood cholesterol and blood pressure under control people with diabetes can help to prevent complications associated with the feet.

Notes

1 BODY WORLDS & The Mirror of Time is the third and latest installment of the groundbreaking anatomical exhibitions by trailblazing scientist, Dr. Gunther von Hagens, and features a special presentation on the human life cycle and ageing. The exhibit shows the complexity, resilience, and vulnerability of the human body through anatomical studies of the body in distress, disease, and optimal health. The exhibition continues until 23 August 2009. www.visitlondon.com/bodyworlds

2 Statistic taken from the 'Diabetic Foot Guide' by the National Diabetes Support Team, 2006

3 Statistic taken from an Ipsos MORI poll carried out for Diabetes UK in September 2007.

4 'The global burden of diabetic foot disease' - Prof Andrew JM Boulton FRCP, Loretta Vileikyte MD, Gunnel Ragnarson-Tennvall PhD, Jan Apelqvist MD - The Lancet, Volume 366, Issue 9498, Pages 1719 - 1724, 12 November 2005 & Gordois A, Scuffham P, Shearer A, Oglesby A. The healthcare costs of diabetic peripheral neuropathy in the UK. Diabetic Foot 2003; 6: 62-73. PubMed

5 International Diabetes Federation - http://www.idf.org/node/1255?node=1408

6 Diabetes UK is the leading charity for the three million people in the UK with diabetes. It is our 75th Anniversary in 2009 and events to mark this special occasion will be taking place around the country. We aim to spend more than £8 million on research in 2009 as well as campaigning and providing information and support. During our 75th Anniversary year, we hope you will be able to join in and support us so that we can carry on improving the lives of people with diabetes into the future. For more information visit www.diabetes.org.uk.

7 In the UK, there are currently 2.5 million people diagnosed with diabetes and it is estimated that up to half a million people have the condition but do not know it.

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