This World Diabetes Day Steve McCabe MP (Birmingham, Selly Oak) has welcomed NHS England’s announcement that from April 2019, the Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring system will be made available to all those who are eligible.
As it currently stands around 30% of CCGs in England do not prescribe this life-changing technology to insulin-dependent diabetics, despite evidence demonstrating that they could benefit from it. Steve began to campaign on this issue after a number of constituents contacted him to raise concerns that they did not have access to the technology. Steve has raised this matter with the local CCG, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and, most recently, he asked the Prime Minister to address the issue as someone who herself has Type 1 diabetes, and benefits from this technology.
Flash Glucose Monitoring allows people living with diabetes to continuously monitor their blood glucose levels, and removes the need for painful finger prick testing. Flash Glucose Monitoring gives people access to better and more accurate information surrounding trends in their blood glucose levels, including at times when they might otherwise not be checking; during the night or when they’re at work, for example. The technology has been described as ‘life-changing’ and a number of constituents who contacted Steve about this issue have described how the technology could transform their diabetes management, reducing the risk of long-term diabetes related complications. The technology is particularly helpful for young children who are living with the condition and parents living in Steve’s constituency have described how it could make a real difference to their ability to track their children’s health.
Steve McCabe said:
“I am pleased that NHS England has decided to intervene in this matter and ensure that those who could benefit from flash glucose technology will now have access to it. However, the devil will be in the detail as it remains unclear exactly how this will be funded, who it will be available to and what the criteria for access will be. This is an important step in the right direction and although I think it has taken far too long. I am pleased that some people living here in my constituency will soon have the opportunity to access this technology. I will continue to pay close attention to this issue as, when it comes to health service rationing, far too many people have had their hopes raised only to find them dashed again when the eligibility criteria is revealed”
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