Likelihood of getting Pump & CGM in UK

[El_em]

Hi

My family are considering a move back to the UK later this year, we are British but have been living in the Netherlands for 5 years - during which time I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

My diabetes care here has been pretty great - we pay health insurance which isn’t cheap but my Dexcom CGM and Omnipod are both covered and weren’t really a problem to get in the first place.

Now I’ve read some stories about how few type 1s in the UK are able to have access to Dexcom and Omnipods I’m getting a bit nervous about the move. I now have good control and a low Hba1c so I’m not sure I would qualify for a pump sadly though almost no hypo awareness until I drop below 2.5mmol and am pretty scared to be without my CGM alerts - especially at night or when caring for my two little kids alone.

Does anyone have any insight into how difficult it might be to get the pods and CGM covered in the Uk? It would be a huge help if it could be NHS but I could also consider private health care depending on costs purely to save my mental health from the stress of surprise lows.

Thanks so much

 

[Deleted member 527103]

@El_em to be honest, there is no clear answer to your question apart from "it depends".
It would be useful to review the NICE guidelines for a pump but, theses are guidelines and interpreted differently by each CCG.
You will also find that the choice of pump varies greatly so Omnipod may not be an option.

Regarding CGMs, the guidelines (again only guidelines) are changing next month but Dexcom is currently rare on prescription. Libre is more common (about 50% ofd people with Type 1 in England have them) and, with Libre 2, you get the high and low alarms which may suit your needs.

You may benefit from calling the Diabetes UK helpline. This forum is not the charity - they are diabetes.org.uk. They have a helpline number which is at the top of every page of their site.

 

[El_em]

Ah thank you - I will do that!

 

[littlebrownbird]

Hi

My family are considering a move back to the UK later this year, we are British but have been living in the Netherlands for 5 years - during which time I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

My diabetes care here has been pretty great - we pay health insurance which isn’t cheap but my Dexcom CGM and Omnipod are both covered and weren’t really a problem to get in the first place.

Now I’ve read some stories about how few type 1s in the UK are able to have access to Dexcom and Omnipods I’m getting a bit nervous about the move. I now have good control and a low Hba1c so I’m not sure I would qualify for a pump sadly though almost no hypo awareness until I drop below 2.5mmol and am pretty scared to be without my CGM alerts - especially at night or when caring for my two little kids alone.

Does anyone have any insight into how difficult it might be to get the pods and CGM covered in the Uk? It would be a huge help if it could be NHS but I could also consider private health care depending on costs purely to save my mental health from the stress of surprise lows.

Thanks so much

The current NICE guidelines are here: