Feet first

NHS Diabetes highlights the cost to patients and the NHS of poor quality diabetic foot care. The annual bill for foot ulcer treatment and amputation is about £650 million. Something like 7% of people with diabetes have had a foot ulcer, a condition that may lead to amputation. In several studies about a third of patients foot ulcers went on to have some form of amputation. Mortality from major amputation and also from foot ulcers is high. Again, effective preventive services, delivered by multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) are offered as the solution: the report provides evidence of how the introduction of MDTs can substantially reduce costs.