There are about 35,000 children and young people under the age of 19 with diabetes in the UK. Ninety six per cent have Type 1. Despite the UK having the fourth highest population of children and young people with diabetes in Europe, there is no standardised approach to care and the UK is one of the worst performing countries in terms of blood glucose control.
Over the last 10 years the need to improve the delivery of paediatric care has been recognised and it is now well understood that a full system approach is needed.
Our position statement -High Quality Care for Children and Young People with Type 1 Diabetes(PDF, 222KB provides an overview of what is being done in the UK and how Diabetes UK are supporting the drive for improvement and national consistency in care through the10/10: Type 1 essentials campaign.
Quality standard on diabetes in children and young people
NICE published the latest version of itsquality standard on diabetes in children and young people in July 2016. Quality standards set out the priority areas for quality improvement, and although they are not mandatory, they can be used in the planning and delivering of services to deliver the best possible care.
The quality standard highlights the importance of GPs immediately referring children and young people with suspected diabetes so that they can be seen by a specialist on the same day. It also recommends intensive insulin treatment for children and young people with Type 1 diabetes to enable better blood glucose control, as well as the need for access to psychological services.
