Overall, the proportion of patients who received all recommended care checks in the first nine months of 2021 was just 27 per cent, compared with 55.2 per cent for 2019-20.

Chris Askew, the chief executive at Diabetes UK, said: “These figures are enormously worrying. Diabetes is serious, and these recommended health checks are vital as they reduce the risk of serious diabetes complications, such as sight loss, heart disease, kidney disease, foot problems and poor pregnancy outcomes.”

Urging the Government to increase investment in diabetes checks, he added: “Healthcare professionals are working incredibly hard, but they are working with limited resources, and we know that missed or delayed appointments can devastate lives.” 

Dr Prashanth Vas, a diabetologist at King’s College Hospital in London, said that medics were now treating more severe ulcers, which could result in more amputations.

“King’s College Hospital has certainly seen an increase in more extensive wounds and procedures to save the leg,” he said.

Dr Vas said the lack of ambulances for patient transport meant that some patients could not be transported to appointments.

Almost five million people in the UK have diabetes, with the vast majority of cases Type 2, which is fuelled by excess weight. Britain’s obesity crisis has seen rates of diabetes double in the past 15 years, with two in three adults now overweight or obese.

Pandemic toll on foot ulcer patients

Richard Leigh, a consultant podiatrist at the Royal Free Hospital and co-chairman of the NHS London acute foot network, said that most hospitals in the capital saw the number of patients admitted with foot ulcers, infections and gangrene fall during the first lockdown, while hospitals were dealing with other pressures, only to rise in the aftermath.

By then, many patients’ conditions had worsened, he warned.

“I suspect the data from the first wave of the pandemic will show that, where planned surgery was cancelled for two months or so, some foot conditions deteriorated. As the conditions were worse, they took longer to heal and so required more treatment,” he said.

“Hopefully, we won’t have worse long-term outcomes, but it will require a lot more intervention by podiatry and associated clinical and surgical foot teams.”

Mr Leigh warned that diabetics who suffer foot ulcers have five-year survival rates three times as high as those with breast cancer.

Medics said that many patients missed out on care when clinics were closed, or limited to only the most high-risk patients. 

One podiatrist, who did not want to be named, said he was now treating patients with chronic wounds as a result of lack of treatment during the pandemic, with some ending up having to undergo amputations.

He said: “I have a couple of patients who now have long-term wounds that have become problematic due to the extended period where they could not be treated during the first lockdown.” 

Prof Partha Kar, NHS England’s national specialty adviser for diabetes, said there had been a “massive drop-off” in checks due to the pandemic, particularly during the first wave.

Health officials urged anyone living with diabetes to speak with their healthcare team if they had concerns about their condition.