More than half of adult diabetes sufferers in Wiltshire are not getting the basic checks and services to manage their condition, according to Diabetes UK.

The national charity has called for improvements to the care diabetes sufferers receive as it says 55 per cent of local people are not receiving the nine checks and services recommended by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, and are at increased risk of diabetes-related complications such as heart disease, kidney failure, amputation, blindness and stroke.

Wiltshire PCT is performing worse than the national average, which is 50 per cent, and Diabetes UK is asking for the condition to be given higher priority in the area.

The charity has asked for people in Wiltshire to write to their MPs and ask them to raise the issue with local healthcare providers and also write to Paul Burstow MP, Minister for Care Services, to ask the Government for a national plan to deliver improved diabetes healthcare services.

Graham Cooper, Diabetes UK regional manager for the south west, said: “Diabetes is one of the greatest health challenges we face today and yet these figures show that thousands of people with the condition in Wiltshire are failing to get the most basic level of care.”

For more information visit www.diabetes.org.uk The PCT refused to comment, saying it had not seen the charity’s full report.