Spirit Health Foundation launches free digital diabetes care programme to tackle digital exclusion
Spirit Health Foundation’s new charitable initiative will help vulnerable people in care and underserved communities access continuous glucose monitoring through free smartphones, training and ongoing support.
Almost six million people in the UK live with diabetes. Advances in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology are helping people manage their condition through real-time glucose readings and alerts to potentially dangerous changes in glucose levels.
However, for some of the most vulnerable people, accessing these benefits is not simply a question of being prescribed a CGM sensor.
Without a compatible smartphone, the necessary digital skills or support from carers and healthcare professionals, connected diabetes technology can remain out of reach.
Spirit Health Foundation’s new Digital Diabetes Care Programme aims to help close this gap by working directly with NHS and care organisations to remove these barriers at no additional cost.
The Foundation is now inviting NHS organisations, care providers and community healthcare teams supporting vulnerable or digitally excluded people to partner with the programme and explore how it could benefit their patients.
Through the programme, Spirit Health Foundation provides partner organisations with a package of free digital inclusion support, including:
- Compatible smartphones and accessories to enable connected CGM.
- Secure mobile device management to keep devices safe, reliable and ready to use.
- Practical virtual training to help carers, nurses and community healthcare teams confidently support people using connected CGM.
- Ongoing mentoring and technical support to help organisations sustain the benefits of the programme.
The programme currently supports CareSens Air CGM, which is prescribed separately through standard NHS pathways for eligible patients according to clinical need.
By providing the technology and practical support needed around CGM, the Foundation aims to ensure that digital exclusion does not prevent vulnerable people from benefiting from advances in diabetes care.
Rich Bryson, CEO of Spirit Health Foundation, said: “Diabetes technology can make a real difference to people’s lives, but only if they can access and use it.
“For vulnerable people in care or those facing digital exclusion, something as simple as not having a suitable smartphone or the digital skills needed to use it can mean missing out on the benefits of CGM.
“That’s why we’ve launched this programme. By removing these barriers through free technology, training and ongoing support, and working alongside NHS and care partners, we can help protect vulnerable people and ensure no one is left behind.”
The programme has been developed with a particular focus on people in care settings and those experiencing deprivation or digital exclusion, where access to suitable technology and digital support can be a significant barrier.
Spirit Health Foundation works directly with NHS partner organisations to identify eligible beneficiaries, understand their technology and support requirements, and agree a tailored programme.
Once agreed, the Foundation coordinates the provision of devices and delivers virtual training and ongoing technical support to help carers and healthcare teams confidently support patients using connected CGM.
The programme is designed to build capability within partner organisations, supporting sustainable use of digital diabetes technology rather than simply providing devices.
The programme is supported by Spirit Health Group, which donates the compatible smartphones, accessories and secure device management.
Spirit Health Foundation operates as an independently governed charity, with its charitable activities and partnership decisions managed separately from Spirit Health Group’s commercial operations.
While CareSens Air is the programme’s currently supported CGM technology, the Foundation welcomes opportunities to work with other CGM providers, subject to appropriate funding and technical arrangements. All CGM prescribing decisions remain the independent responsibility of NHS clinicians, based on individual clinical need and applicable NHS guidance.
NHS organisations, care providers and community healthcare teams interested in partnering with the programme can contact Spirit Health Foundation at hello@spirithealthfoundation.org.