Prescriptions for diabetes medications continue to rise according to NHS report

Latest NHS figures show diabetes items prescribed increased by 21 million over last ten years.

The NHS has published their annual report on items used in treating diabetes prescribed in England.

The Prescribing for Diabetes 2015/16 to 2023/24 report is compiled by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

The report showed that 71 million items used in treating diabetes were prescribed in England in 2023/24.

This was a 42% increase from 50 million diabetes items in 2015/16, an increase of 21 million items.

Compared to 2022/23, the number of diabetes items prescribed increased by 7% from 66 million items.  

There were 3.6 million identified patients who were prescribed a diabetes item in England in 2023/24. This was a 7% increase from 3.4 million identified patients in 2022/23, and a 34% increase from 2.7 million in 2015/16. 

The cost of items used in treating diabetes represents 15% of the total spend on all prescription items prescribed in England. In 2023/24 this cost rose to £1.67 billion – up 74% from £960 million in 2015/16, when diabetes represented 10% of the total spend on all prescription items.

From 2022/23 this was a 9% rise from £1.53 million.

Antidiabetic drugs were the most prescribed drugs used in treating diabetes in England in 2023/24 with 53 million items at a cost of £960 million. The costs of antidiabetic drugs have increased by 127% since 2015/16 from £420 million. 

The highest number of identified patients that were prescribed drugs used in treating diabetes in 2023/24 were from the most deprived areas in England, with 340,000 more patients compared to the least deprived areas.  

The most common group to receive prescribing for drugs used in diabetes in 2023/24 was male patients aged 60 to 64 with 270,000 identified patients. 

Read the NHS Prescribing for Diabetes 2015/16 to 2023/24 report