Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to take steps to ensure that all patients with protected characteristics are included in the roll-out of hybrid closed loop technology for patients with type 1 diabetes.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published final draft guidance on the use of the hybrid closed loop (HCL) systems for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes to the National Health Service in England. The draft guidance is out for comment until 28 November 2023. If there are no appeals, then the final guidance will be published in December 2023.

NHS England are engaging with integrated care boards (ICBs) and other stakeholders as part of the development of the HCL implementation strategy. The strategy will provide advice and guidance to ICBs and NHS providers on the phased approach to implementation. Prioritisation will be based on patient need within the eligible population and through the National Diabetes Audit, activity rates and outcomes will be reported to monitor unwarranted variation in access and address health inequalities.