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Postcode lottery on insulin pumps

This campaign was launched in England and Scotland during Diabetes Week 2007 but we still need your help to make sure that people who need them have access to insulin pumps. Pumps can save the NHS money and improve the quality of life for people who use them. However, despite national guidance which states that pumps should be available, this is not the case for too many people.

How to get involved

• Send letters to your local NHS service provider (Primary Care Trust, Health Board) and political representative (MP, MSP, AM) - these are available to download on the right. Remember to address and sign the letters so the PCT and MP can respond.
• Get press coverage for this important issue by sending the pro forma press release (downloadable on the right, to your local newspaper. The press release has been written to help you increase your chances of receiving press coverage.
• Service user representatives – please use the downloadable briefing to raise this issue at your next planning group meeting.
• Encourage friends and family members to get involved with this campaign. Feel free to photocopy the letters for them.

Important - Once you have sent the letters/press release, please let us know by phoning 020 7424 1148 or emailing dcn@diabetes.org.uk.

Thank you.

Further background information

In 2003, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended that insulin pumps be available for people with Type 1 diabetes in cases where multiple daily injections have failed. Four years on, and in some areas, people with diabetes are experiencing unacceptable variations in accessing services and in some cases no services to support people using this form of therapy are available at all. This variation in services, despite the existence of NICE guidance, is causing considerable frustration and expense to individuals, many people are self-funding their pump and others who qualify for it are unable to get funding through the NHS.

It is estimated that around two per cent of people with Type 1 diabetes use pumps in the UK. This compares to between 10 and 20 per cent in other European member states and around 15 to 20 per cent in the United States. In Sweden, an amazing one quarter (25 per cent) of all children with diabetes are on pumps.

Evidence has shown that an estimated saving of £23,532 over two years can be derived, which offsets the costs of insulin pump therapy. Using an insulin pump can improve blood glucose control, which in turn can lead to fewer complications.

In terms of quality of life and incalculable weeks off work, the costs of treating poorly controlled diabetes vastly outweigh the costs of using a pump.

During Diabetes Week we will be asking supporters in England, Scotland and Wales to contact their local NHS provider and political representative to make sure all people with diabetes meeting national criteria be provided with the funding and clinical support to enable them to use a pump if they choose to do so, no matter where they live.