Diabetes uses 10% of NHS drugs bill

Diabetes now accounts for 10% of the NHS drugs bill in England, according to official figures.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre report shows £869m was spent on drugs for the disease last year.

It marks a sharp rise from the £514m being spent on the drugs a decade ago, when they accounted for just 6.6% of the prescriptions budget.

The figures include drugs for both type-1 and type-2 diabetes, which affect 2.8 million people in England.

It includes insulin, metformin and other anti-diabetic drugs.

Ian Bullard, who wrote the report, said: "It shows that 10p in the pound of the primary care prescribing bill in England is being spent on managing diabetes.

"Diabetes continues to be one of the most prevalent long-term conditions, and the number of patients being diagnosed with the condition is increasing each year."