Health and Social Care Committee
Inquiry into the implementation of the National Service Framework for diabetes in Wales and its future direction
DB 2 - JDRF
JDRF submission to the Health and Social Care Committee Inquiry into the implementation of the NSF for diabetes in Wales and its future direction
For more information regarding this response, please contact:
David Newman
Head of Public Affairs
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
19 Angel Gate
London
EC1V 2PT
Email: dnewman@jdrf.org.uk
1. About JDRF
JDRF is the world's leading charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research and exists to find a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications. For 40 years we have been fundamentally involved in the delivery of advances in this field: seeking out, assessing and monitoring the best science to drive the breakthroughs that improve management of type 1 diabetes and will ultimately cure the condition.
2. Response to Inquiry
JDRF welcomes the Welsh Assembly’s renewed focus and review of the National Service Framework.
It is encouraging to see Type 1 diabetes recognised as a long-term condition that requires lifelong specialist care. Over the course of their lives, people with type 1 diabetes will be required to engage with a range of healthcare professionals and other specialist services in order to manage their condition successfully.
We are told by people with type 1 and note with concern, that they are not receiving the basic care they should expect and that there is patchy availability to state of the art care. Many primary care providers are simply not aware of the appropriate care pathways for people with type 1 diabetes.
JDRF believes there is room for improvement in access to insulin pumps. Insulin pump therapy is a well-established treatment option for type 1 diabetes and is a clinically and cost effective option recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE has set a benchmark of 12%[1] of people with type 1 diabetes using an insulin pump. However, despite clear NICE guidance on eligibility, there is considerable inequity in insulin pump provision across the country.
Currently, only 3.9% of people with type 1 diabetes in the UK use an insulin pump, one of the lowest rates of pump therapy in any developed nation worldwide. Current barriers are centred on a lack of specialist staff and training, inadequate funding, confusion over NICE guidelines and reluctance amongst clinicians.
Scotland has made significant steps forward into addressing the inequity of access to insulin pumps. JDRF would welcome a greater emphasis to access as a priority going forward as part of NSF delivery.