OBJECTIVES: Two surveys aimed to understand the impact of nocturnal and daytime non-severe hypoglycaemic events on healthcare system utilisation and patient quality of life. METHODS: People with diabetes from six countries who had experienced a non-severe hypoglycaemic event in the 4 weeks prior to the survey were eligible (n=300/survey). In South Africa, surveys were conducted online. RESULTS: In the South African nocturnal (N)/daytime (D) hypoglycaemia cohorts (n=50/survey), 80% and 80% (N/D) had type 2 diabetes; 30%/24% (N/D) were male; mean age 45/43 years (N/D); mean diabetes duration 11.1/9.4 years (N/D); 93/93% (N/D) insulin users. 34/40% (N/D) experienced ≥1 non-severe hypoglycaemia events/week. Most respondents (70/76% [N/D]) were unemployed, which could skew the observed impact of hypoglycaemia on productivity. Both surveys revealed that, following an event, it took 20 min (median) for acute symptoms to disappear and 60 min (median) for the respondent to function at their normal level. After an event, 11/11% (N/D) decreased insulin dose, 14/12% (N/D) modified insulin administration time and 14/12% (N/D) contacted a healthcare professional. In the week after an event, respondents added an average of 2.8/3.6 (N/D) blood glucose tests to an average of 18.8/17.4 (N/D) tests in a normal week. Nocturnal events had a high impact on sleep quality (46% of respondents) and social life (24%), and 84% of respondents felt tired and/or fatigued the next day. In the daytime survey, about 26% reported the event highly impacted daily activities (outside of work). Also, 40/18% (N/D) of respondents indicated that the event had a high impact on their fear of hypoglycaemia. The majority ascribed hypoglycaemia to stress (50%/58% [N/D]) or irregular/insufficient food intake (50%/40% [N/D]). CONCLUSIONS: Both nocturnal and daytime hypoglycaemic events had an impact on patients’ use of healthcare system, quality of life and daily productivity.