Scotland’s £10m insulin pump and CGM fund

By Editor
13th December 2016
Insulin pumps, Latest news Technology

A £10m fund to provide more insulin pumps to people with diabetes living in Scotland has been announced.

It will also be used to fund more continuous glucose monitoring equipment as part of a five-year package of funding announced by the Scottish government to help improve care for people with the condition in the country.

Proper control is absolutely key to improving outcomes and preventing complications from developing

The investment will also see money being ploughed into fund a pioneering study taking place at University of Dundee, which, with more than 6,000 participants taking part, is likely to be the biggest of its kind across Europe.

There are currently around 3,200 insulin pumps in use in Scotland – an increase of more than 400 per cent since 2010 thanks to a £7.5 million Scottish Government programme.

The continuous glucose monitoring kits will be provided to priority groups including people who experience particularly severe cases of hypoglycaemia – where blood sugar levels fall dangerously low – and young children.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon spoke about the Scottish Government’s commitment to improve diabetes care when she attended the 30th anniversary of the UK founding of type 1 diabetes charity JDRF in Edinburgh last week.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “We know that insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring kits can make it much easier for some people to manage their type 1 diabetes. Proper control is absolutely key to improving outcomes and preventing complications from developing.

“This new investment will increase the provision of this equipment, meaning it’s available to many more people, and making it easier for them to lead healthy lives.

“Type 1 diabetes is a significant health challenge right across the world and Scotland is no exception. To address this the Scottish Government has increased the number of insulin pumps fourfold since 2010, and we’re also funding ground-breaking research at the University of Dundee – the biggest study of its kind in Europe – involving more than 6000 patients.”

Karen Addington, Chief Executive of JDRF in the UK, said: “Evidence shows this type 1 diabetes technology, provided alongside support and training for its use, can improve lives. We welcome the announcement of increased funding to improve access to it.”

Comments (0)

Register an account or login to comment