Well yes, exactly Bev - but T2's generally just aren't given the kind of expert help we T1s get instant access to (well, not everywhere it's true, there's still some parlous advice about and even HCPs who can't recognise the classic symptoms of diabetes at 5 inches let alone 50 paces)
It SOOOOOO doesn't need to be as progressive as it is but I guess you could say it must be since after 40 years I now have 'diabetic changes' in both eyes instead of just the one. I was hacked off about that too. Trouble is a helluva lot of T2s don't get it detected for years and years because they don't have worrying symptoms like T1s do, so by the time they know it complications could be well on their way. THAT is hardly their fault, and they still have to be treated, so yes it's V important that HCPs know what to do and what's urgent and what ain't. Referral pathways and all that jazz.
But they really really need to spend more time on prevention of progression now, because they've spent a lot of time and effort on early detection in the last few years, so it's time to move on to Stage Two, whereas they still skip straight from Stage One to Stage Three.