Diabetes cost 'needs action'

Responding to a Public Accounts Committee report today, the government has acknowledged the NHS needs to do better with regard to treating and preventing diabetes, and has set a raft of new targets designed to improve efficiency and treatment outcomes.

Around £9.8bn was spent by the NHS on diabetes last year, and spending on the condition has been rising steadily in recent years and is expected to reach almost £17bn by 2035.

The Today programme's science correspondent Tom Feilden explains the current situation from a hospital in Ipswich.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday 26 February 2013.