Older diabetics are suffering 'needless' amputations and blindness because they get the worst care Half of the diabetics in the UK are over 60, yet are 'not getting proper care' This leads to them suffering complications that cost the NHS £9.8bn a year One in 20 Britons is now suffering from diabetes, which is linked to obesity New report aims to tackle age discrimination associated with the disease Older people with diabetes are suffering needless life-changing complications, including amputations and blindness, because of discrimination in favour of younger patients, a new report has warned. Half of the diabetics in the UK are over the age of 60, yet they are being denied the proper care and aggressive treatment which is routinely given to younger patients, experts say. This discrimination then leads to complications such as blindness and kidney failure - costing the NHS £9.8 billion a year - according to the Institute of Diabetes for Older People (IDOP) report launched today. Older diabetics are suffering needless life-changing complications, including amputations and blindness, because they are not getting the best treatment, experts warn Yet within the next seven years, 60 per cent of diabetics will be over 60 and if nothing is done, more beds will be taken by elderly patients with the associated rising costs, the IDOP report says. In fact, the crisis in health care threatens to bankrupt the already overstretched NHS, it says. Earlier this week, shocking figures revealed that one in 20 Britons is suffering from diabetes as a result of soaring obesity rates. Blindness is one of the most common consequences of diabetes if the condition is not managed properly Complications of diabetes include diabetic retinopathy - the leading cause of blindness in the UK - nerve damage, kidney disease, heart disease and even the need for the amputation, as ulcers in the foot can become severely infected. In the last few years, retinopathy has increased by 118 per cent, stroke by 87 per cent, kidney failure by 56 per cent and cardiac failure by 43 per cent. And it is estimated that of more than 100 amputations carried out each week from diabetes complications, up to 80 per cent are preventable. Professor Alan Sinclair, Director at Institute of Diabetes for Older People (IDOP) said: 'It's a tragedy that so many elderly people suffer these complications when they could be so easily prevented if they were given the care and treatment that they need.' Older patients with diabetes complications currently occupy 15 per cent of all hospital beds. Professor Sinclair predicts that by 2030, this figure will rocket to one in four hospital beds, costing taxpayers £465.25 million per year - the equivalent of 1.34 million diabetes bed days. He added: 'If nothing is done now to improve the care of older people with type 2 diabetes, the effect on patients and the NHS could be catastrophic - the impending diabetes time bomb could potentially bankrupt the already stretched service.' In order to ensure older people with type 2 diabetes receive better care, the institute has launched new guidelines in the form of user-friendly recommendations for doctors, nurses and care home managers who work with or care for older people with diabetes. The guidelines have been developed to address care gaps highlighted in previous studies. Prof Sinclair said: 'In the past, some clinical guidelines have ignored the issues faced by older people with diabetes such as frailty, functional ability and increased dependency, focusing mainly on the needs of the young, and consequently older people have missed out on preventive treatments and suffered blindness and limb amputation as a result in some cases.'