Prescribing for diabetes has increased by nearly 75 per cent over the past decade and now accounts for one-tenth of England’s primary care prescribing bill, new figures reveal.

According to data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre, over 47 million prescriptions were dispensed for diabetes drugs in 2014/15, while the net ingredient cost (NIC) for managing the condition was £868.6 million, representing 10 per cent of the total primary care prescribing spend. In comparison, 27 million items were prescribed for diabetes in 2005/06, making up 6.6 per cent of the total prescribing cost.

Responsible statistician for the report Ian Bullard said that 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 longterm conditions, and the number of patients being diagnosed with the condition is increasing each year.”