Breaking news: A huge step forward in the Fight for Flash
On World Diabetes Day, NHS England announced an end to the flash glucose monitoring postcode lottery.
From April, this life-changing technology will be available on prescription across England to those who meet the criteria – no matter where they live. This is a huge step forward for people with Type 1 diabetes.
At the moment, around 30% of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) across the UK don’t prescribe flash glucose monitoring (We call it Flash for short). This means thousands of people are being denied access to a technology which could help them more safely manage their diabetes, and reduce the risk of serious complications such as amputation and sight loss.
Excitingly, this announcement should mean an end to the unfair postcode lottery – and to the variations in availability between CCGs which have dogged access to this revolutionary technology.
We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has fought for fair access to Flash – this wouldn’t have happened without you!
What does this mean for me?
We know that, unfortunately, this still won’t mean everyone who could benefit from Flash will be able to access it. There are clear criteria that need to be met in order to be eligible for access on the NHS.
What’s new is that these criteria will now be the same for all Clinical Commissioning Groups across England, and there will also be funding made available. This means that if in the past you’ve been told you can’t have Flash because your local NHS won’t fund it, you should now be able to access it if you meet the criteria.
We’ll continue to work with CCGs to broaden the criteria and fight for everyone who can benefit from Flash to be able to access it on prescription.
This announcement doesn't change the situation in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales. In Wales and Northern Ireland Flash is available, using national criteria. You can find more information about the criteria in Northern Ireland on our webpage. Information about criteria in Wales is available in this Health Technology Wales briefing.
Availability in Scotland is decided upon by local decision makers. Currently Flash is available in almost all areas.
Have questions?
We still want to know your stories, so if you live in an area which is prescribing Flash but you're still struggling to access it, please get in touch and let us know why.
Share your story on access to Flash
And here's our Head of Policy Robin Hewings to explain more about what this means for you.
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