The Company Chemists’ Association has today published a report that urges the Government to commission a national diabetes screening service from pharmacies in England that would save the NHS £50 million a year.

The report, which lays out the growing burden of diabetes on the NHS, said the new service would see pharmacists screen 1.5 million adults a year and identify 180,000 prediabetics as well as 45,000 undiagnosed diabetics.

It insisted the service will prevent 7,000 heart attacks and strokes and stop 15,000 people developing severe sight loss. However, the report warned the service must be underpinned by “seamless” IT referral pathways and patient pathways to allow independent prescribing pharmacists “to initiate treatment where needed”.

That, the CCA said, will prevent patients “developing serious complications that require specialised care”.

The report warned a three-year delay in diabetes diagnosis and treatment would mean 22.4 per cent of those 45,000 undiagnosed diabetics would suffer cardiovascular disease, including a stroke or heart attack.

CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison said: “With the burden of type 2 diabetes set to grow significantly, commissioning pharmacies to deliver a national diabetes screening service makes sense for patients, the NHS and the UK economy.

“A national type 2 diabetes screening service could not only free up as many as 25 million GP appointments a year but help reverse the blight of the disease which continues to disproportionately affect patients in areas of higher deprivation.

“This service would align closely to the objectives of the NHS and could be a step-change for the 4 million people with type 2 diabetes and 2 million people at high risk of developing it.”

CCA report: 639 pharmacies in Greater Manchester could provide screening 

The report was produced in association with the diagnostics company BHR Biosynex. Greater Manchester was used to model the potential impact of the new service.

The report said the 639 pharmacies in Greater Manchester could provide the screening service to support Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership’s five-year Tackling Diabetes Together strategy.

The strategy said 850,000 people living in Greater Manchester will develop diabetes in their lifetime. It said the area’s 7.4 per cent prevalence of the disease was “higher than the national average.”

The CCA’s report said if all 639 pharmacies were commissioned to provide the screening service, 2,000 people with undiagnosed diabetes and 10,800 people with pre-diabetes would be identified each year.

The report also said that would prevent 1,000 people from developing diabetes and 536 people from having a cardiac event every year, saving the NHS in Greater Manchester £3 million annually.

Dr Manisha Kumar, the chief medical officer at Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, said: “Over a quarter of people living in Greater Manchester will develop diabetes in their lifetime.

“Type 2 diabetes has a significant impact on the health outcomes of sufferers everywhere as well as a preventable cost to the NHS and wider economy. That's why Greater Manchester launched its Tackling Diabetes Together strategy.

"New models of care supporting early identification of people with diabetes including utilising the skills of community pharmacy is part of our neighbourhood delivery model and are keen to support how we could develop more opportunities to deliver these services in community pharmacy settings.”