Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing guidance and quality standards on the treatment and care of diabetes in England. The NICE guideline NG18, for type 1 and 2 diabetes, provides clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, and care of children and young people. Children with suspected type 1 diabetes should receive a blood test that checks blood glucose, or sugar, levels.

NG18 recommends that children and young people with suspected type 1 diabetes are referred immediately, on the same day, to a multidisciplinary paediatric diabetes team with the competencies needed to confirm diagnosis and provide immediate care.

NHS England has published the RightCare toolkit which supports good quality diabetes care for children and young adults and includes guidance on timely and accurate diagnosis.