Impact of the covid-19 pandemic on delivering routine diabetes care in a district general hospital

ABSTRACT

Aims: Currently 80% of National Health Service (NHS) budget for diabetes is spent on diabetes related complications.1 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)2 recommends regular review to identify early complications. The covid-19 pandemic has affected normal diabetes services and we aim to explore how this has impacted diabetes care in accordance to NICE guidelines. Methods: Retrospective study was conducted by analysing the data of patients reviewed in diabetes clinics in Poole Hospital from March to August 2019 compared to the same timeframe in 2020. During the pandemic clinics changed to virtual telephone consultation compared to face-to- face review in 2019. Patients were identified from one clinic list from two different consultants. Data was collected using Electronic Patient Record (EPR), Diabetea3 and Spectra. Results: All routine checks for diabetes review were affected by covid-19. Only 56% of patients had blood pressure, body mass index and foot review during 2020 compared to 91% in 2019. Foot checks were most affected with a 32% decrease;additionally there was a 17% reduction in urine samples compared to previous. 98% of patients had a routine HbA1c in 2019 however this fell to 83% the following year. Retinal screening was least affected with a 9% decrease. Interestingly there was a 2% increase for both thyroid and renal results in 2020. Conclusion: Diabetes care has been adversely affected by the covid-19 pandemic which raises concerns for patient management. We can expect a significant rise in complications related to diabetes and we should therefore target our efforts to address these issues.