Prime Minister backs JDRF’s call for more diabetes technology on the NHS

Prime Minister David Cameron has recognised the need for more diabetes technology to be available on the NHS – providing a boost to JDRF’s #CountMeIn campaign for greater government support.

Mr Cameron responded during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday to Diabetes UK’s State of the Nation report.

He said: “An enormous amount of exciting new technology is coming forward on diabetes, and I want to make sure that this technology is rapidly adopted by the NHS.”

The Prime Minister was responding to a Diabetes UK report, which highlights that there has been very little improvement in diabetes healthcare over the past year. His response comes after the delivery of JDRF’s #CountMeIn petition to Number 10 Downing Street only last week – calling on the government to increase funding for Type 1 diabetes research.

Unfortunately, in comparison to other nations, the UK still lags on providing access to existing Type 1 diabetes treatment technology such as insulin pumps.

However, working with partners including Diabetes UK, JDRF is leading the way on making diabetes technology such as the artificial pancreas a reality – not just in the research laboratory but also by campaigning for its delivery by the NHS.

The report also highlights that only 29.1 per cent of people with Type 1 diabetes aged under 40 are receiving eight of their nine NICE recommended care processes. The figure for the same group of people but living with Type 2 diabetes was 46.3 per cent.

Karen Addington, Chief Executive of JDRF in the UK, said: “This report draws important attention to the current state of our healthcare system for people living with Type 1 diabetes.  Research into the condition is making excellent progress – and I would like to thank Mr Cameron for understanding the need for its continued development and delivery.”

To learn more about the #CountMeIn campaign, click here.