Federal Election Platform 2022 Diabetes is the single biggest challenge confronting Australia’s health system. There are 1.9 million Australians living with diabetes including almost 120,000 people who have been diagnosed in the last twelve months. It is the leading cause of a range of debilitating complications including vision loss, amputation, kidney failure and heart disease. Diabetes costs the economy more than $17.6B per annum. People with diabetes have been particularly impacted by COVID-19, including accounting for around 30% of all people in intensive care units. Worryingly, there is growing evidence that COVID-19 may increase a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes which could see the number of people living with the condition increase in the years ahead. This federal election Diabetes Australia is calling for a commitment to nine actions across four areas: Early detection for early intervention Access to essential diabetes technology for at risk groups Reducing the impact of diabetes-related complications Supporting Australia’s most vulnerable communities These actions will improve the quality of life and ease cost of living pressures for millions of Australians. You can download a copy of our ‘Federal Election Platform 2022’ here. What we are calling for: Early detection for early intervention ACTION 1 Invest $3.5M over two years to support three pilots to trial methods of opportunistic type 2 diabetes screening. An estimated 500,000 people are living with silent undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. If detected early, complications and hospitalisations can be reduced. ACTION 2 Fund a $2M national awareness campaign over three years focused on the early warning signs of type 1 diabetes. Every year 640 people end up in hospital in life-threatening conditions. Timely diagnosis reduces emergency hospitalisations. Access to essential diabetes technology for at risk groups ACTION 3 Invest up to $43M to ensure all Australians with type 1 diabetes can access Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) technology; ACTION 4 Invest $526K per annum to support diabetes healthcare professionals to provide healthcare and education to people who use diabetes technology. Diabetes technology reduces the risk of short and long-term diabetes related complications. Even preventing 50% of severe hypos could save $50M. Reducing the impact of diabetes-related complications ACTION 5 Invest $1.6M over two years to establish a Diabetes Kidney Disease Screening Program. Diabetes is the leading cause of end stage kidney disease. Early detection reduces hospitalisations and dialysis. ACTION 6 Establish a Pre-existing Diabetes in Pregnancy Register to track pregnancy outcomes among women with diabetes. Women with non-gestational diabetes and their children are at higher risk of stillbirth and other serious adverse outcomes. We can make pregnancy safer for women with diabetes. ACTION 7 Add diabetes to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Clinical Care Standards and include a standard for diabetes clinical handover. A lack of coordinated care puts people at greater risk of readmission to hospital. Coordinated care keeps people out of hospital. Supporting Australia’s most vulnerable communities ACTION 8 Invest $10M over three years to pilot a Diabetes in Aged Care training package to ensure all aged care services have staff with specialised diabetes training supported by the introduction of minimum national standards for diabetes management in aged care. One in five people in residential aged care live with diabetes. Aged care training and support will keep people with diabetes healthy and out of hospital. ACTION 9 Invest $2.64M over three years in a program delivered in partnership with the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council to break the intergenerational cycle of type 2 diabetes in four First Nations communities. Diabetes is the biggest contributor to the gap in life-expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Preventing type diabetes in young people will help close the gap. You can download a copy of our ‘Federal Election Platform 2022 Summary’ here.
