Thank you so much for sharing your feedback on our FAQs, please email any thoughts or questions to campaigns@diabetes.org.uk
This will help us to make sure we’re providing clear and comprehensive information, to support healthcare professionals to provide diabetes tech to those that are eligible.
Scroll down to see more info on the campaign, and the FAQs we’ve prepared so far.
About the campaign
Diabetes tech isn’t a luxury. For some, it’s vital. That’s why we’re campaigning to make sure everyone living with diabetes has fair and equal access to the life-changing tech they’re eligible for.
Flash glucose monitoring, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), insulin pumps and hybrid closed loops – diabetes tech is life-changing. But only if you have access. We’ve seen progress in recent years, but we need to go further, faster. Access to diabetes tech must be based on need, not on postcode.
In 2022, new guidelines in Scotland led to £14.6 million Scottish Government funding to increase access to hybrid closed loop technologies across Scotland, and new guidelines in England recommended giving more people living with diabetes access to flash and CGM. But at the moment, access varies across the UK. We need to make sure the guidelines in England and funding in Scotland are put into action, so no matter where you live, everyone can get tech that will help them take control of their diabetes and live a happier and healthier life.
Use our postcode lookup to find out about access to tech in your area, how this compares to the rest of the country, and take action to make sure everyone is supported to get the tech they need to live well with diabetes: www.diabetes.org.uk/tech-cant-wait
Healthcare professional FAQs - for any queries not included below, please get in touch with policy@diabetes.org.uk
I’m a healthcare professional – where can I learn more about these changes and what can I do to implement them?
We know that many healthcare professionals working in diabetes will want to support the adoption of these guidelines. You can see our guide to who is eligible here.
There is a lot of support for you out there, including training on technology on various platforms. For example, The Diabetes Technology Network UK and Eden both provide free online training courses which cover a range of devices and are catered for healthcare professionals working in primary and secondary care settings.
A lot of manufacturers of Flash and CGM also offer help with initiating people with diabetes on these technologies and supporting them to use them well – you should be able to reach out to them directly if you want to know more.
We are also developing a new free CPD module on diabetes technologies for healthcare professionals which will be launched in the coming months and shared.
Our professionals section of our website also has further tools and resources to help you support the adoption of these exciting new NICE guidelines where you work.
It’s also really helpful for us to find out more about your experiences when prescribing diabetes technologies or writing local policies, to help us understand the challenges you face and how we can work together to overcome them. You can share your experience here: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/forms/hcp-stories
I’m facing challenges to providing diabetes tech
We understand there are many pressures that health services are facing now that make it challenging to follow the latest guidance and offer tech to all eligible people.
Moving people with diabetes from finger-prick blood testing to CGM and Flash requires time and money which are both limited, but we would stress that this tech has been appraised by NICE and found to be both clinically and cost-effective when the recommendations were made in 2022.
NICE also developed a resource impact template (accessible here) that can help to assess the financial impact of implementing the guidance based on local population inputs.
Although there are front-end costs associated with rolling out the tech, the improvements in self-management linked with using these devices should offset this. CGM and Flash have been shown to help people reduce their HbA1c and achieve better self-management, reducing their risk of both long-term complications and short-term complications like severe hypoglycaemia.
Investment in diabetes technology is not only worthwhile because it can help to ensure that all eligible people living with diabetes have the opportunity to experience its benefits, but it also reduces pressures on services by improving their care and self-management.
Having sufficient numbers of trained staff to implement these changes is another key consideration and we know there are challenges training and recruiting new staff to do so. On the wider question of workforce, we continue to call on the government to publish their NHS workforce plan, with costed plans to address staffing shortages currently faced, as soon as possible. As part of this campaign, we are also sharing resources that can support healthcare professionals such as training courses and are inviting those who have been able to implement successful policies to share their examples of best practice too.
How do the rankings work?
We have used the information shared by ICBs in England about their local policy for CGM and Flash and ranked them based on how they align with the 2022 NICE guidelines for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
The rankings are split into four categories depending on type of diabetes and device: type 1 diabetes and CGM, type 1 diabetes and Flash, type 2 diabetes and CGM, and type 2 diabetes and Flash.
We have used three shades of blue to denote how local policies align with NICE – with the darkest representing full alignment, the middle partial alignment and the lightest shade representing areas who are not aligned, or we have not had sight of a policy from yet.
For people with type 1 diabetes, full alignment for CGM means that the policy says everyone with the condition is able to access a full choice of device depending on their individual needs and preferences – which should include procured devices with additional functionality alongside the less expensive prescribed options.
For people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, full alignment for Flash means that the policy says everyone who meets the NICE eligibility criteria can access Flash.
For people with type 2 diabetes, full alignment for CGM means that the policy says that those who meet the NICE criteria can access a CGM device that is available at the same or lower cost to Flash.
Areas may be marked as having partial alignment because, for example, they have agreed a policy with full access to CGM for children and young people with type 1 diabetes – but are yet to do so for adults.
Areas with no alignment are using policies that are based on limited criteria developed before the NICE update in 2022 or have not made their new policy publicly available yet.
The information for my ICB is no longer accurate
We appreciate that this is a changing situation and, whilst we have made efforts to ensure our information is up-to-date, there may be cases where it may not be.
Our intention with this campaign is to support local areas to adopt policies that can improve care and provide information for people with diabetes to understand what they are eligible for.
If any of our information is out of date please contact us at policy@diabetes.org.uk with a link to any relevant policy documents available and we will be happy to update our records as soon as possible to reflect this.
Are you able to share learnings from other regions?
Where possible we have asked ICBs who have been able to update their policies in line with the latest guidance to share further information about how they did so. This is so we can share best practice with other ICBs, and work together to create and implement policies that will enable everyone living with diabetes to get the tech they need.
We would welcome collaboration across regions to ensure uptake and are happy to facilitate conversations and share learnings. Please get in touch with us at policy@diabetes.org.uk if you want work with us to start a conversation with other regions.
What is Diabetes UK doing to support local health systems with this and other issues?
Diabetes UK has lots of resources to support local health systems to improve diabetes care, including through diabetes technology. Including the following. We’ve included some below, but please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our helpline if you need more information.
Reports/data sources
Leadership programmes
What care to expect
- What diabetes care to expect | Diabetes UK
- what care to expect - Diabetes UK Shop (free leaflets to download)
Structured education for people with diabetes
Education and training
- CPD modules
- Guide to other courses and events
National Diabetes Audit Quality Improvement Collaboratives
Improving inpatient care
Education and training
- CPD modules
- Guide to other courses and events
Information prescriptions for healthcare professionals
DUK professional membership
DUK research opportunities
