Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are plans to provide free flash glucose monitoring systems to type 1 diabetics on the NHS.
Freestyle Libre – a flash glucose monitoring system – was included in Part IX of the England and Wales Drug Tariff from November last year. The Drug Tariff is a price list, and the listing of Freestyle Libre should not be interpreted as a recommendation to prescribe it. Patients will need to discuss the ongoing management of their condition with their healthcare professional and consider whether flash glucose monitoring is suitable for them.
The Regional Medicines Optimisation Committee North, part of four NHS England committees providing guidance on the use of drugs and devices, has issued guidance on the use of Freestyle Libre suggesting a careful start to its use and data collection to better understand the benefits for patients. The Committee’s recommendations are available at this link:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Flash-Glucose-monitoring-System-RMOC-Statement-final-2.pdf
People with diabetes insipidus or diabetes mellitus (except where treatment is by diet alone) - which includes type 1 and type 2 diabetes - are eligible for free National Health Service prescriptions if they hold a valid medical exemption certificate.