News Release Archive
- DVLA Guidelines make it simpler for drivers with insulin treated diabetes
- A no deal Brexit could put lives at risk
- New Ulcer treatment could prevent 3,000 amputations a year
- FreeStyle Libre latest News!!!
- NHS Long-Term Plan
- FreeStyle Libre on the NHS from April 2019 but…
- Pork insulin availability in the UK and Canada assured
- NHS to provide life changing glucose monitors for Type 1 Diabetes patients
- Leading experts slam current diabetes care in UK care homes – a Call to Action needed
- Roche announces urgent recall on certain Accu-Chek Aviva and Performa test strips
- Ramadan 2018 and fasting
- DVLA changes regulations
- Freestyle Libre available on the NHS!
- Medtronic recall specific lots of infusion sets with all models of Medtronic insulin pumps
- All Accu-Chek® Insight insulin pumps – risk of alarm failure
- WHO – long-acting analogues not an essential medicine
- Beef insulin discontinued
- Soft Drinks Warning!
- Driven to Despair
- 2017 – Getting back on track after Christmas
- Childhood Obesity Strategy failing our children
- Diabetes – What schools need to know
- DVLA – Good News!
- The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit (NDFA)
- Diabetes care criticised
- Motorists banned in error after faulty DVLA visual field test
- Too many children and young people with diabetes not getting the care they need
- National NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme
- InDependent Diabetes Trust: Young diabetics ‘get worse care’
- IDDT’s Position Statement – ‘pre-diabetes’
- MBE Is Bolt From The Blue For Charity Chair
- New insulin on the market – Insulin Degludec (Tresiba)
- Diabetes community urges more support for older people
- Warning to people with diabetes about dangerous herbal medicine
- In 1 week, 60 hospital patients with diabetes develop preventable complications – National Audit
- Passport for Diabetes in Care Settings
- Launch of Passport for Diabetes in Care Settings
- Type 2 Diabetes – Management & Medication
- Cost of insulin analogues
- Actos And The Risk Of Bladder Cancer – New Safety Warnings
- Actraphane – are patients really at the centre of care
- Marketing of insulin – a missed opportunity
- IDDT Launch Patient Hospital Passports
- IDDT Launch Public Awareness Campaign
- IDDT’s Position Statement on DTCA
- In Sickness and in Health
- IDDT Triumphs in Australia
Freestyle Libre available on the NHS!
On September 13th it was announced that the Freestyle Libre by Abbott will be available on the NHS from November 1st 2017 for people with Type 1 diabetes. This is a device which checks blood glucose levels by scanning a sensor worn on the back of the arm without having to prick the fingers, so non-invasively. Globally there are over 300,000 users and it is available in more than 35 countries. It is referred to as a flash glucose sensing device and is currently the only one in existence.
It will be available for reimbursement via the NHS in England and Wales, NHS Scotland and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland for people with Type 1 and 2 diabetes who are treating their diabetes intensively with insulin.
The sensor is about the size of a £2 coin worn on the back of the arm for up to 14 days with a probe that goes just under the skin. The sensor is ‘flashed’ with a scanning device which gives the glucose readings as a graph of the levels for the previous 8 hours and an arrow showing if the glucose levels are going up or down.
It seems like the answer to a prayer and people in the UK who are already using it by paying for the sensors, are full of praise for it. However, while national approval for the device has been given, this is subject to local health authority approval. So once again we run the risk of having a postcode lottery of availability despite evidence that flash glucose monitoring can improve blood glucose levels, reduce time spent in hypo- and hyperglycaemia and enable people, reduce HbA1cs and potentially reduce complications, not to mention improving the quality of life.
Naturally, IDDT believes that everyone with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes using insulin who wants to use this device, should be allowed to do so, but will this happen? How will local health authorities decide who can or cannot have it or will some areas simply have a blanket ban? Will they understand and think about all the benefits that it could have on daily living and quality of life?
Here are just a few thoughts but there are many other examples:
- In a family, the person sets off to work early in the morning while their partner with diabetes is still asleep, just a quick flash on the sensor, will let them know that their sleeping partner is just that – asleep and not hypo!
- In schools, the designated teacher/carer would not have to do a finger-prick test. In addition, the parents would know what has been happening during the school day.
- In residential care the staff are not allowed to finger-prick test because it is invasive, but with the Libre they could easily check the residents with diabetes to better manage their diabetes.
NOTE: We’ve recently had an enquiry regarding swimming with the FreeStyle Libra Patch, and have been advised that you can swim with the patch on, but no deeper than 1 metre under the water – and you should only swim with the patch on for 30 minutes at a time.