While we await the government’s 10 Year Health Plan (10YHP), Diabetes UK (DUK) have developed their own 10-year plan for improving health outcomes and tackling inequality for people living with diabetes.

DUK’s plan, presented at the House of Commons ahead of the 10YHP release, calls for a transformation in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes by 2035. With over 12 million people in the UK affected by diabetes or prediabetes, and the costs associated with diabetes care set to rise from £10.7 billion to £18 billion annually, urgent systemic change is necessary. The strategies outlined in their plan aim to reduce complications, premature mortality and health inequalities associated with diabetes.

The report outlines five core pillars to tackle this:

• Stemming the rise of type 2 diabetes
• Early and supported diagnosis
• Transforming diabetes treatment and care
• Accelerating innovation
• Improving the diabetes pathway

DUK’s suggested strategies align with the government’s three shifts following the Darzi report. At each stage of the diabetes pathway there is an opportunity to implement these shifts - from treatment to prevention, from analogue to digital and from hospital to community and delivering care closer to home. DUK’s report outlines these in practical terms for diabetes care, to protect the health of millions across the UK and reduce future costs to the NHS.

Some examples of the transition from treatment to prevention include reducing cardiovascular deaths by 25% by implementing a prevention strategy focused on diabetes and cardiovascular disease, especially for high-risk groups. This includes tackling health inequalities through reducing the impact of poverty, creating healthier food environments, protecting prevention funding, expanding NHS Health Checks and providing effective transition support for young people with diabetes.

In the shift from analogue to digital, there are calls to widen access to diabetes technology, particularly CGM, for eligible people with type 2 diabetes. This would be reinforced by ensuring data from digital tools such as wearables is integrated into health systems to drive more tailored and effective care decisions. Other suggestions include investing in the National Diabetes Audit to modernise data collection, improve ethnicity recording, and reduce disparities in care and outcomes.

Finally, to facilitate the shift from hospital to community, empowering community-based multidisciplinary teams will help support diabetes self-management and coordinate better care for complex conditions. This would be cemented by reforming primary care incentives to increase regular health check uptake and funding local obesity services to help scale education and early intervention.

This 10-year vision presents a clear call to action for the government and practical steps for clinicians to drive the transformation in diabetes care. This means leading on early diagnosis to enable timely intervention and championing holistic, person-centred care that integrates physical and mental health and ensures patients receive all essential checks and tailored support. Driving equitable access to diabetes technology and digital tools will also be crucial in addressing disparities and improving outcomes. Above all, there is a need to advocate for prevention-focused strategies and help shape system-wide change to ensure that high-quality, equitable diabetes care becomes the standard.

Read the full version of the plan here: Diabetes UK’s 10 Year Vision