The 4400 Reasons to End Preventable Amputations Campaign aims to raise awareness of the need for urgent action to address diabetes-related amputations in Australia.
Currently there are 4,400 amputations performed in Australian hospitals every year - and up to 85 per cent of these could be prevented. It is estimated diabetes-related amputations costs Australia around $875 million every single year.
Surveys show that the general public underestimates the seriousness of diabetes and most people aren’t aware of the connection between diabetes and amputations.
We can end diabetes-related amputations with a generation.
To do this, we need to do three things:
1. Change public attitudes We need to raise awareness of this devastating issue and encourage people to check their feet regularly. Too many Australians living with diabetes are missing out on vital foot checks because they aren’t aware of what they need to do to look after their feet.
2. Provide earlier treatment We need to re-orientate attitudes towards early intervention and early prevention. See your GP or nurse about increasing your access to services like diabetes educators, podiatrists, and other allied health services so you get the support you need.
3. Measure our progress We accept accountability and transparency and measure if we are getting better. We have set reduction targets and aim to decrease the number of people in our clinic who don’t have foot checks and therefore we reduce the number of hospitalisations of people with diabetes and the number of amputations.
