Served on the table 2023 – for the good care of people with diabetes

Regular medical foot care is an essential part of diabetes care. Otherwise, foot problems risk reducing the quality of life and unnecessary high costs, because foot problems are avoidable for diabetics. However, it requires continuous and preventive efforts, including at least one annual foot examination, as well as for the approximately 90,000 people with diabetes in the Västra Götaland Region (VGR). Resources are needed to restore post-pandemic care and comply with the new care process within knowledge management for people with diabetes at risk of developing foot ulcers.

New figures from the Swedish Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Scale show that a third of members with deteriorating care compared to 2019 cite foot care as a concern. Statistics from the National Diabetes Registry illustrate this trend. The percentage of people with type 1 diabetes who had a foot exam in 2019 was 80 percent, but it decreased to 69.7 percent in 2021. The corresponding percentages in the group with type 2 diabetes were 79.4 percent and 73.4 percent, respectively.

At the VGR, we were below the national average for people with type 2 diabetes in 2021. Ours was 70 percent. Among people with type 1 diabetes, the corresponding proportion was 70.6 percent, just above the national average last year. However, Diabetes Scale shows that among the members in the region, 1/4 believe that diabetes care is doing poorly when it comes to regular foot exams.

We need to tackle this together. One reason is emphasized in the recently developed course of care under the National Knowledge Management Framework, described in the introduction, for people with diabetes at risk of developing foot ulcers: “…the five-year mortality rate of people with diabetic foot ulcers is high and can compared to those diagnosed with colon cancer.

There is no getting around the fact that resources are needed for the region to be able to comply with the new sponsorship process. Other solutions could be, for example, around ensuring that staff in care and home care have a real opportunity to absorb new knowledge in the area, work with preventive measures and review how foot care for people with diabetes is organized in the area. We cooperate at all levels in the field of healthcare and social care.

If we help each other, we will ensure that aspirations to improve pedicure for people with diabetes do not become a broken New Year’s resolution for 2023.

Kent Ollison

President of the Diabetes Association in Västra Götaland