How can I get NHS to fund my pump supplies?

[olamakiola]

Hello

I moved to Engalnd from Canada 1st of September of 2019. I am currenlty self-funding my medical pump supplies however I heard that if you order from Medtronic here there are certain hospitals that fund your medical supplies. I would greatly appreciate it if someone is able to provide me information on how to access this?

Thank you

 

[Juicyj]

Hello and welcome to the forum @olamakiola

If I was you i'd firstly register with your local GP and ask for a referral to their specialist Diabetes team, then speak to the team in regards to funding, each Clinical Commissioning Group will have their own policy on funding so speaking to the team will help you find out what is available to you. I am unsure of any other way of finding this out, so unless any other members have specific advice, this is the route I would take if in your shoes.

 

[olamakiola]

Hello and welcome to the forum @olamakiola

If I was you i'd firstly register with your local GP and ask for a referral to their specialist Diabetes team, then speak to the team in regards to funding, each Clinical Commissioning Group will have their own policy on funding so speaking to the team will help you find out what is available to you. I am unsure of any other way of finding this out, so unless any other members have specific advice, this is the route I would take if in your shoes.

thank you. I will ensure I discuss this with my GP

 

[sleepster]

Hi @olamakiola, I don't know that you'd necessarily have to wait until you had been referred by your GP to ask about funding your supplies, you could get in touch with the clinic and explain the situation and see what the likelihood is of them funding you, if they are willing to discuss it before you are referred to them.
I recently changed hospitals and there was a possibility that the new hospital wouldn't fund my pump, but they wanted to know why I was approved for pump funding in the first place and whether having the pump improved the problems I was having. It may depend on whether you were prescribed the pump or were completely self funding in Canada, I must admit I know nothing about Canada and their pump prescribing so I would say based on my experience, it depends if your pump was prescribed to help with a specific problem or whether pumps are prescribed to most people without specific criteria to be met.
It probably also depends if your move to the UK is a permanent one or if not, how long you plan to be here, so whether you will need replacement pumps when your warranties are up or if it'll just be the consumables until you return to Canada.
You don't have to tell me the answers to these things but may be what the hospital considers before making the decision. I hope you get sorted out

 

[tigger]

My funding for my pump comes straight from the hospital as do the supplies. Insulin and blood testing stuff comes from the GP. If you are under consultant care bring it up with them. The fact that you're an experienced pump user may help. Otherwise it depends a lot on which PCT you're in and their criteria. I got mine while pregnant but usually they're looking for people who have trouble keeping control other ways or who suffer from frequent hypos. I'm not up to date with latest requirements as I've had mine for 5 years now but wish you much luck.

 

[TypeZero.]

Hello

I moved to Engalnd from Canada 1st of September of 2019. I am currenlty self-funding my medical pump supplies however I heard that if you order from Medtronic here there are certain hospitals that fund your medical supplies. I would greatly appreciate it if someone is able to provide me information on how to access this?

Thank you

“You will not normally be allowed to buy the pump yourself and then obtain NHS funding for consumables”


https://jdrf.org.uk/information-sup...therapy/can-i-get-an-insulin-pump-on-the-nhs/

However I would take my chance and ask about it with your consultant. The thing about pumps is that they have a more general criteria rather than a specific one like for CGMs so it is easier to obtain funding for pumps and consumables provided you have a consultant who supports you.

What I think will be good for you when making your case is, if you can, show any historic data from when you didn’t have a pump and show your BG now to show it has allowed you to improve. Depending on the willingness of your consultant he might actually apply for funding but I’m in the belief that they don’t just fund consumables but assess you so are funded for both a pump and its consumables simultaneously