Tens of thousands of children and eligible adults living with type 1 diabetes across England are set to receive an ‘artificial pancreas’.
The NHS this is in thanks to "cost-effective deals" secured by the health service with suppliers of the technology.
These devices continually monitor an individual’s glucose levels and then automatically adjust the amount of insulin given to them through a pump.
Local NHS systems have been identifying eligible people living with type 1 diabetes who could benefit from the Hybrid Closed Loop (HCL) system – sometimes called an artificial pancreas.
NHS England is providing £14.1 million to local health systems to provide the technology to patients for the first year.
There are currently around 270,000 people living in England with type 1 diabetes. NHS England is encouraging all prescribing trusts to review patients that are eligible for HCL and already using other diabetes technology including continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and insulin pumps.
The technology will mean some people living with type 1 diabetes will no longer need to inject themselves with insulin but rely on technology to receive their medication.
This can also help prevent life-threatening hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemia attacks, which can lead to seizures, coma or even death for people living with type 1 diabetes.
The mass rollout of the artificial pancreas builds on a successful pilot of the technology by NHS England, which saw 835 adults and children with type 1 diabetes given devices to improve the management of their condition.
The latest figures show that the NHS currently spends around £10.7 billion each year – around six per cent of its entire budget – on identifying and treating diabetes.
Dr Clare Hambling, NHS national clinical director for diabetes, said: “The NHS continues to lead the way in care and treatment for people with diabetes and this is just the latest example of those efforts – by ensuring cost-effectiveness of the latest technology, we can roll out these groundbreaking devices to thousands more eligible patients over the next five years."
She added that the technology behind the Hybrid Closed Loop systems will be "completely lifechanging for many people living with type 1 diabetes, promising a better quality of life as well as clinical outcomes."
“Type 1 diabetes is an easily missed diagnosis so if you are concerned about symptoms – the 4Ts – going to the Toilet, passing urine more frequently, with Thirst, feeling Tired and getting Thinner (losing weight), please come forward for support.”
The National Institute of Health Care and Excellence (NICE) approved the NHS’s roll-out of the technology in December 2023.
Since the NICE announcement, NHS England has published a five-year implementation strategy, setting out a timeline for how local systems will provide the Hybrid Closed Loop system for eligible patients from 1 April 2024.
NICE recommends the devices should be rolled out to children and young people under 19 with type 1 diabetes, pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, and adults who would benefit from this new technology to help manage high glucose levels.
