THE NHS is south Essex is paying out £109 more on diabetes drugs per patient than it did five years ago, figures reveal.

The charity Diabetes UK says the disease is “one of our biggest health crises”, and the health service allocated more than £1 billion in the last financial year alone to devices and drugs to deal with it.

NHS Digital figures show that Southend Clinical Commissioning Group forked out £3.3 million on prescribing medicines for diabetes in 2018-19 – an average of £320 on each patient, up from £283 in 2013-14.

In Basildon costs rose to £5.2 million over the same period - £360 on each patient, up from £326 in 2013-14.

Diabetes medicines cost Castle Point and Rochford Clinical Commissioning Group £3.9 million – an average of £346 on each patient, up from £308 in 2013-14.

Across England, the average spend was £328 per patient last year.

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body either cannot produce insulin or cannot properly use it. If not controlled, it can lead to heart attacks and strokes, as well as problems with the kidneys, eyes, feet and nerves. Diabetes drugs accounted for 12 per cent of all money spent on prescriptions in Southend last year, according to the figures.

The NHS bill for treating diabetes has ballooned nationally over the last five years, from more than £800million in 2013-14 to nearly £1.1billion in 2018-19. Across England, the average spend per patient was £328 last year.

Tricia D’Orsi, diabetes lead for the Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership said: “Thanks to better diagnosis and treatment, the NHS is caring for more people than ever before with diabetes.

“Many of the associated prescription costs are due to a sustained and steep surge in the number of people with Type 2 diabetes and a reminder of the urgent need to prevent Type 2 diabetes from developing in individuals”

Nikki Joule, from Diabetes UK policy said: “The number of people with diabetes has doubled in the last 20 years, so it’s no surprise that the cost of prescriptions to the NHS has dramatically increased as well.

“It is vital that drugs being prescribed are reviewed regularly, not only to ensure patients receive the most effective therapy, but also to reduce waste.”