Diabetes breakthrough as life-changing artificial pancreas given NHS approval for type 1 patients

Health regulator NICE says a cost-effective price was needed before being offered

The new technology could help patients manage their condition more effectively (Getty Images)

Patients with type-1 diabetes could soon be offered new technology on the NHS to better manage their condition.

The ‘artificial pancreas’, has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Guidance currently being drafted by the health body suggests the device will “reduce the mental load and improve people’s quality of life.”

The system uses a glucose monitor embedded under the skin to monitor blood sugar levels, transmitting to an external pump device which calculates the amount of insulin required.

Hilary Nathan, director of communications and policy at diabetes charity JDRF, called the recommendations a “game changer - opening access to everyone who meets qualifying criteria...Not just the few.”

Draft guidance currently being developed by NICE has said that the device should be recommended if the NHS can negotiate a “cost-effective price for the systems.”

Negotiations between the NHS and production companies “will need to agree a discount” before the device can be rolled out.

The pilot was announced in June 2021 by the then-chief executive of NHS England, Sir Simon Stevens, who said: “Living with diabetes is a daily challenge for millions of people across England, and this closed loop technology has the potential to make a remarkable difference to their lives.

“In a year that marks a century since insulin was discovered – which revolutionised the world of diabetes – this innovation is a prime example of the NHS’s continued progress in modern medicine and technology.”

Approximately 400,000 people are living with type 1 diabetes in the UK, including around 29,000 children.

NICE recommends that the new technology is first offered to patients unable to control their insulin through conventional means such as injections and pumps, including pregnant women. This is estimated to be around 100,000 people in England.

The device has also been recommended for use in paediatric care with clinical trials suggesting the device “can reduce some of the burden, and improve quality of life for people, their families and carers.”

The new technology is already being funded in Scotland has been licensed for use by the UK health regulator, the MHRA.

Speaking with the BBC, Professor Partha Kar, national specialty adviser for diabetes at NHS England, said: “This technology has been proven to give the best control for managing type 1 diabetes and should make things like amputations, blindness, and kidney problems possibly a thing of the past.

“The quality of life this technology gives to those using it is huge”