Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of medical supplies for diabetic insulin pumps sourced from overseas after the transition period.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department, in consultation with the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, and with partners across the health and social care sector, has made detailed plans to help ensure continued supply of medicines and medical products, including medical supplies for diabetic insulin pumps, to the whole of the United Kingdom from 1 January 2021.
The Department wrote to industry on 3 August 2020 and an updated letter on 17 November setting out the plans. The letters are available at the following links:
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of advances in the design and manufacture of rt-CGM systems, providing those with Type 1 diabetes with access to technology and the ability to self-monitor their glucose levels to avoid hyper- and hypoglycaemia in a less intrusive way to monitoring through blood tests.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Treatments may be brought into routine use in the National Health Service after their efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness have been appropriately demonstrated. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for assessing new technologies and interventional procedures, as well as producing guidelines for best practice of treatment and care.
NICE has produced diagnostics guidance on technologies for managing blood glucose levels in people with type 1 diabetes. These integrated sensor-augmented pump therapy systems combine continuous glucose monitoring with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will instruct NHS England to amend the guidelines they issue to clinical commissioning groups to extend the criteria for the prescription of the freestyle libre glucose monitoring device to people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The criteria for being prescribed the freestyle libre glucose monitoring device were extended on 11 November 2020 to include both people with Type 1 diabetes and people who have insulin treated Type 2 diabetes who are living with a learning disability and who are recorded on their general practitioner’s learning disability register.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the merits of increasing funding for diabetes technology in the Spending Review.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
I recognise the major impact that diabetes has on society and would like to assure you that the Government is committed to continuing to improve diabetes care within the NHS.
While it would not be appropriate to respond in detail at this stage of the Spending Review, I can assure you that the issues you’ve raised have been noted.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the variation in insulin pump uptake nationally; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all specialist diabetes services respond to the National Diabetes Insulin Pump Audit.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Diabetes Insulin Pump Audit report recommended that the variation between specialist diabetic centres in pump use by people with type 1 diabetes warranted further investigation.
NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) programme has undertaken reviews of specialist diabetes centres with a wide remit looking at variation in outcomes and access across a range of care processes. This included assessment of workforce capability and capacity and access to technology in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. The GIRFT report and recommendations are being developed following these reviews.
Noting this variation in access, the marked socioeconomic gradient in uptake of insulin pumps, and that there are several different technologies available to those with type 1 diabetes, not just pumps, NHS England and NHS Improvement are replacing the pump audit with a wider type 1 audit which will look at those on, and not on pumps and will also audit other technologies, both current and future.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Noctura 400 Sleep Mask as a treatment for diabetic retinopathy patients.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a Medtech Innovation Briefing (MIB) on the Noctura 400 Sleep Mask for diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema in April 2018 [reference number MIB144]. MIBs provide information to National Health Service and care commissioners and staff who are considering using new medical devices and other medical or diagnostic technologies.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2020 to Question 26807 on Diabetes: Medical Equipment, what (a) national and (b) regional data NHS England and NHS Improvement hold on the prescription of flash glucose monitors by primary care providers.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is shown in the following table.
Flash Glucose Monitoring Patient Numbers – Q3 2019/20
Number of Identified Patients with Prescriptions | |||||||
|
| Q1 Uptake | Q2 Uptake | Q3 Uptake | |||
Region | Estimated # of Type 1 patients in the region | # | % | # | % | # | % |
North West | 30,630 | 6,084 | 20 | 7,836 | 26 | 9,325 | 30 |
North East and Yorkshire | 40,490 | 989 | 2 | 5,672 | 14 | 8,640 | 21 |
Midlands | 46,455 | 6,109 | 13 | 8,849 | 19 | 11,534 | 25 |
East | 29,635 | 1,493 | 5 | 3,127 | 11 | 4,633 | 16 |
London | 29,565 | 3,382 | 11 | 4,574 | 15 | 5,975 | 20 |
South West | 26,875 | 4,171 | 16 | 5,748 | 21 | 6,924 | 26 |
South East | 39,275 | 6,231 | 16 | 8,530 | 22 | 10,751 | 27 |
England | 242,925 | 28,459 | 12 | 44,336 | 18 | 57,782 | 24 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority
Notes:
- These figures represent patient numbers in receipt of flash in primary care.
- Flash Glucose Monitoring uptake has increased markedly in all regions – national uptake is now 24% of all type 1 patients.
- Figures only correspond to individual identified patients with clinical commissioning group prescriptions and may therefore understate full coverage.
Estimated number of type 1 patients sourced from National Diabetes Audit 2017/18
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of people with type 1 diabetes have been prescribed a flash glucose monitoring in each clinical commissioning group since April 2019; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
NHS England and NHS Improvement estimates that in primary care, flash glucose monitoring uptake has increased markedly in all regions since April 2019. National uptake is now estimated to be 24% of all type 1 patients which is an increase of 19 percentage points from the start of the programme (1 April 2019).
It should be noted that NHS England and NHS Improvement have activity reporting for the prescribing of flash glucose monitors up to and including the end of Quarter 3 of this financial year. Due to differences in the way activity is reported between secondary and primary care, only primary care activity at clinical commissioning group (CCG) level can be reported. This data is aggregated at a national and regional level. Some flash glucose monitors are prescribed via secondary care, but NHS England and NHS Improvement do not have this activity broken down by individual CCG. Patient population data is based on the National Diabetes Audit 2017/18.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which organisations and individuals participate in the development of formularies for blood glucose testing devices in each locality.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Formularies are developed locally between National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups and are not set nationally. Therefore we do not hold a list or have the information requested.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on securing the adequate availability and delivery of freestyle librelink diabetic sensors during the transition period.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is aware that there has been a temporary disruption in the supply of Freestyle Libre glucose monitoring sensors, caused by an increase in demand. The supplier, Abbott, has however recently informed us that the delay issues have now been fully resolved and that this news has been communicated to existing users and health care professionals.
Abbott have emphasised that the supply disruption was not caused by the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. The UK has now left the EU and entered a transition period, which will run until 31 December 2020. EU regulations on medicines, vaccines and medical devices will continue to apply to the UK throughout the transition period, during which we will negotiate a new trade agreement with the EU.