Emergency Hospital Admissions for Diabetes

This indicator is one measure of the prevention, identification and management of people at risk of developing diabetes and those with the condition. It shows adverse outcomes as annual numbers of emergency hospital admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis and coma.

Emergency admissions to hospital can be avoided by identifying people at risk, primary care services interventions, encouraging better diet and exercise, improving self-monitoring and diabetes control and supporting patients and carers in the management of diabetes in the home. It needs local health and care services working effectively together to support people’s health and independence in the community.

Type 2 diabetes (around 90 percent of diabetes diagnoses) is partially preventable - it can be prevented or delayed by lifestyle changes (exercise, weight loss, healthy eating). Earlier detection of type 2 diabetes followed by effective treatment reduces the risk of developing diabetic complications. These include cardiovascular, kidney, foot and eye diseases, meaning considerable illness and reduced quality of life.

There are some limitations to this data, as raw counts of hospital episodes are subject to population structures (such as numbers of people in older age groups) and other underlying variations. Counts below 5 are removed from the data.

The data is updated annually. Sources: NHS Digital (now part of NHS England) - dataset P02177, and commentary from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) indicator 2.17 Recorded Diabetes.