National service frameworks (NSFs): England 

According to a report from Diabetes UK, as of 2009, there are 2.6 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes and up to half a million more people who have diabetes but have not been diagnosed. It is estimated that up to one in 20 people in England has diabetes (diagnosed and undiagnosed) but across the UK it is not quite one in 20 – see Diabetes in the UK 2010: key statistics on diabetes.

Diabetes is the biggest cause of kidney failure, the leading cause of blindness in adults of working age, and one of the biggest causes of lower limb amputation. It also increases the risk of coronary artery disease and stroke (Yorkshire and Humber Public Health Observatory 2006). The National Diabetes Inpatient Audit undertaken in acute hospitals in England in 2010 found that diabetes accounts for 15 per cent of inpatients – see link to audit report below.

Many of the documents below are in PDF format - See how to access PDF files. They are arranged under the following headings:

National service framework

Department of Health (2001) National Service Framework for Diabetes
National service frameworks are long term strategies for improving specific areas of care. The National Service Framework for diabetes, published in 2001, sets national standards and identifies key interventions for all aspects of diabetes care and prevention.

Department of Health (2002) National Service Framework for diabetes: Delivery strategy
The delivery strategy sets out the national targets against which local NHS performance on the standards set out in the National Service Framework can be judged.

Department of Health (2003) Diabetes Information Strategy 
This information strategy from the Department of Health is an integral part of the National Service Framework delivery strategy. The document sets out the infrastructure for information and information systems and services required to deliver the improvements in services identified by the National Service Framework.

Royal College of Nursing (2003) An RCN guide to the National Service Framework for Diabetes (PDF 132.8KB)
This publication produced by the RCN Diabetes Nursing Forum summarises the standards, offers practical tips on achieving them and outlines the delivery strategy.

Reports are published annually highlighting the progress made with the implementation of the Diabetes National Service Framework since the publication of the National Service Framework delivery strategy. Each report comments on the progress over all the intervening years:

National clinical guidelines and standards

Further guidelines and guidance and standards for specific aspects of diabetes and diabetes care are also included within the specific resource lists.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE): Diabetes guidance
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is an independent body responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health in England and Wales, with formalised links to Scotland and Northern Ireland. This section of the NICE website provides details of all the NICE guidelines, guidance and interventions on diabetes care and management.

NICE (2011) Diabetes in adults quality standard
NICE quality standards are “a set of specific, concise statements that act as markers of high-quality, cost-effective patient care, covering the treatment and prevention of different diseases and conditions”. They define clinical best practice within specific topic areas.  Developed in collaboration with NHS and social care professionals and service users, the standards  address three dimensions of quality: clinical effectiveness, patient safety and patient experience. This standard presents statements around key aspects of diabetes care for adults.

National diabetes audit 

National Clinic Audit Support Programme (NCASP): Diabetes
NCASP, which is part of the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care, delivers the National Diabetes Audit (NDA) in partnership with the Health care Commission. The NDA provides an infrastructure for the collation, analysis, benchmarking and feedback of local clinical data to support effective clinical audit across the NHS. These pages on the information centre website describe the objectives and organisation of the NDA . All reports are available at Diabetes audit reports.

Commissioning guidance

NHS Diabetes commissioning resource
This web resource aims to offer practical support, templates, information and case studies for diabetes commissioners and health care professionals to enhance the World Class Commissioning skills and capability to deliver the Diabetes National Service Framework. There are links commissioning guides for many specific areas of diabetes care and for specific population groups.

Other reports

Audit Commission (2000) Testing times: a review of diabetes services in England and Wales
This report from the Audit Commission highlighted variations in diabetes services and variable levels of care across England and Wales. Evidence from the audit helped to inform the National Service Framework.

Diabetes UK: Reports, statistics and case studies
This area of the Diabetes UK website lists publications produced by Diabetes UK sometimes in partnership with other organisations. This includes overviews and statistics about who is affected and how - see: Diabetes in the UK 2010.

NHS Diabetes: Reports and guidance
This area of the NHS Diabetes website highlights key reports and guidance relating to diabetes and service improvements which have been published by NHS Diabetes and other organisations.

NHS Diabetes: Factsheets
Factsheets bring together the most important facts and information on a selected topic and can also take the form of a summary of key points from a report.

NHS Diabetes (2011) National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (NaDIA) 2010 (England)
The National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (NaDIA) is a snapshot audit of inpatient diabetes care. The audit which was undertaken in acute hospitals in England was conducted on a single weekday in the first two weeks of November 2010. It set out to answer these questions: Did diabetes management minimise the risk of avoidable complications? Did harm results from the inpatient stay? Was patient experience of the inpatient stay favourable? The audit found that people with diabetes account for 15 per cent of inpatients in England. The audit also highlights medication and prescription errors and the impact of these.
NHS Diabetes press release.   

NHS information Centre for health and social care (2010) Prescribing for diabetes in England: 2004/05 to 2009/10
Compares prevalence and costs of diabetes and reports on prescribing trends for medicines prescribed in primary care for the period April 2004 to March 2010.