The majority of England and Wales' diabetic children aged 12 and older are not undergoing all their recommended health checks, according to a report. Only 25.4 percent of children aged 12 and older out of 27,682 children and young people were getting their health checks, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has found.
According to BBC, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has mandated that children with diabetes need to have their blood sugar levels checked annually. Other health checks for those over 12 are also needed, namely measuring blood pressure, cholesterol, growth, kidney function, eye screening and foot examination.
Diabetes: Children 'not getting recommended checks' https://t.co/CCRe9iLULE @DiabetesUK #diabetes #diabetesawareness
— Deborah Stone (@dlstone10) May 31, 2016
Differences In Health Care For Rich And Poor Children
Technie News said that children and young people in impoverished areas in England and Wales were found to have worse blood glucose test results than their counterparts who lived in richer neighborhoods. "There remains considerable variation in the level of care provided," said Bridget Turner, Diabetes UK director of policy and care improvement.
The report involved records of diabetic children and young people up to 24 years old, with most of them having Type 1 diabetes. Between April 2014 and end-March 2015, they all went to paediatric diabetes units in England and Wales.
Six Other Health Checks Being Overlooked
Daily Mail reported that diabetic children's average blood glucose level (HbA1C) fell for the fifth consecutive year. Children with "excellent diabetes control" also rose up to 23.5 percent in 2014-2015 from 15.8 percent in 2012-2013.
"Whilst completion rates for individual care processes such as HbA1c have improved, it is completely unacceptable that the same high standard isn't reached with the six other care processes that need to be recorded," said Dr. Justin Warner, clinical lead for the audit and member of the RCPCH. However, Warner noted that there could have been more children who completed all seven health checks but the records might not have been updated possibly due to a lack of time and resources.
