@kev-w unfortunately in Leeds no 1 has to go hand in hand with at least one if not two of the other criteria. I can easily reach more than 8 tests a day. Having worn the Libre for over a year, if I don’t wear it, I go through a shed load of testing strips. You just so want to know where you are.
I got my Fiasp prescription today. My brother also in Leeds can only get it through the hospital as his Gp won’t prescribe it. The whole thing is utterly bonkers!
Hi Becca, this is the point of the announcement,. It overrides the local CCG variability.
From now on, RMOC guidance counts, not what the locals have come up with, so in Leeds, you now only need to apply one of the criteria. That's the main point of the announcement. Harmonising the entirety of NHS England under one set of common criteria.
I wonder whether they'll fund dexcom for those who qualify for libre but are allergic to the sensors? (Never clear what proportion of users become allergic, but it does appear to be significant...)
No, they won't at the moment. Dexcom is not a prescription tariff offering. It's purely "Individual Funding Request" and is at the discretion of hospital/CCG, although recommended under NICE NG17 for those with severe hypo unawareness.
Until their pricing aligns with that of the Libre (essentially £70 per month to the NHS), then it won't be added to the prescription tariff. That's not to say that people aren't working on that....
The criteria to be funded is stiff , quite rightly , there are some people that have never looked after themselves in terms of HBA etc etc that will want a 'freebie thinking the libre will make them better..not even understanding how it works .its not a bottomless pit , the NHS has to be careful with money ...so it boils down to imo if you demonstrate that youve improved your hba1c and are healthy , if youve self funded and are healthy youll get approved .. youre a good bet.. If youve rested on your laurels for the past xx number of years and your HBA1C is rubbish youll not be funded untill you demonstrate some motivation and improved BGL . Thats how i interpret it its not generally my opinion but a little bit is.
I don't know if you've read the press release or seen the data collected from a number of Scottish clinics? It shows that those with the highest Hba1Cs have benefited the most from use of the Libre (extract below):
In addition, the press release discusses the National Guidance that was referenced earlier. High Hba1C (greater than 8.5%) qualifies you alone.
No-one will be rolling it out to those who struggle without education, but there's been a huge amount of that going on within the HCP world and Libre "workshops" are pretty common place in many clinics now. It will have nothing to do with whether you have self funded and are healthy, just the direct criteria as already stated. That makes the device available to most people, as most people qualify under the current national guidance. We wait to see if that changes.