Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the NHS to identify people with diabetes (1) whose care has been disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) who have refrained from seeking clinical support, and (3) who require improvements in their diabetes control.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and an analysis of diabetes risk, NHS England has worked with partners to publish guidance which includes how to safely maintain essential diabetes services, conduct remote diabetes reviews and methods to prioritise the review of patients as part of local recovery efforts.

Extra measures have also been put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic so that people living with diabetes can continue to access support, including commissioning services to help people with diabetes of all ages self-manage their condition using online digital structured education programmes. To address the effect that COVID-19 had on referrals into the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, NHS England will use a ‘direct to consumer’ model to sit alongside Public Health England and NHS England health marketing proposals.