Highland MSP Edward Mountain criticises doubled NHS Highland spending on antidiabetic drugs
A multi-million pound rise in anti-diabetes medication spending at NHS Highland highlights the need tor better prevention measures, an MSP has argued.
Edward Mountain, a Highlands and Islands list MSP for the Conservatives, was speaking after a freedom of information request revealed that NHS Highland could be on track to spend more than £5.5 million on antidiabetic drugs this year.
The figure would be almost double the £2.89 million spent by the health board in 2019. The spend in the first eight months of 2024 has also already exceeded the £3.6 million spent in the whole of 2023.
The total overall spend (on drugs, needles, and diabetes detection and monitoring) has also risen sharply – from £7.2 million in 2019 to a projected £11.6 million in 2024 (£7.7 million January to August 2024). The total spend on insulin has stayed relatively constant with only small increases year-on-year.
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The FOI also revealed that there are only 3.35 FTE staff in post in the NHS Highland area for Diabetes and Endocrinology, with 1.15 FTE vacant.
Mr Mountain said: “Having diabetes is out of many patients’ control, but we must remember that the overall rate of diabetes can indicate other health and lifestyle issues.
“As well as lowering life expectancy and quality of life, diabetes places a strain on the NHS. It is vital that we ensure a healthy lifestyle is promoted so that as many cases as possible can be prevented.
“NHS Highland are already facing a £50m annual overspend, so it is important that they identify areas where costs are increasing at a worrying rate. A projected doubling of spending on antidiabetic drugs in just 5 years is seriously worrying.
“I will continue to put pressure on the Scottish Government to ensure that diabetes care is targeted, properly funded, and with an emphasis on prevention.”
NHS Highland has responded to Mr Mountain’s comments by stressing that one of the main risk factors for type two diabetes is age, and that an ageing population means more people will have the condition and this will inevitably lead to “more need for medication”.
A spokesperson said: “NHS Highland is committed to supporting people with diabetes with a range of care and treatment provided in primary and secondary care. It is important to recognise that there are two main types of diabetes, Type one and type two. They have different risk factors, and their principal treatments are different.
“We need to keep good control of diabetes, especially Type 1 diabetes among young people to help reduce both current and future health risks.
“Type two diabetes is more common and one of the main risk factors for this condition is age. As the age of our population increases in NHS Highland we would expect to have more people with Type 2 diabetes and consequently more need for medication.
“Ways to control diabetes are improving but may be considerably more costly.
“Two large risk factors for Type 2 diabetes that can be changed are weight and physical activity and it is important for us to work with everyone to support opportunities to have a healthy weight and to be physically active.”
