Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England is taking to raise awareness of Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders among healthcare professionals in diabetes and eating disorder services in (a) Somerset and (b) England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is currently funding five Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) pilots, with the aim of increasing understanding of the characteristics and care needs of people with T1DE, assessing the feasibility of the service delivery model and build the evidence base for an integrated diabetes and mental health pathway.
Pilot sites are delivering a national high level service specification alongside testing local novel approaches to improving care including to awareness raising of the condition amongst both diabetes and eating disorder health care professionals. A national evaluation is currently underway to assess the impact of the five current pilot services. NHS England will review the evaluation findings to understand further opportunities to promote awareness of T1DE amongst healthcare professionals beyond the five pilot areas.
NHS England works alongside its partners to support the delivery of key messages around diabetes education and awareness. This includes through a digital diabetes platform which is developing educational resources for T1DE.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders among healthcare professionals in diabetes and eating disorder services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is currently funding five Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) pilots, with the aim of increasing understanding of the characteristics and care needs of people with T1DE, assessing the feasibility of the service delivery model and build the evidence base for an integrated diabetes and mental health pathway.
Pilot sites are delivering a national high level service specification alongside testing local novel approaches to improving care including to awareness raising of the condition amongst both diabetes and eating disorder health care professionals. A national evaluation is currently underway to assess the impact of the five current pilot services. NHS England will review the evaluation findings to understand further opportunities to promote awareness of T1DE amongst healthcare professionals beyond the five pilot areas.
NHS England works alongside its partners to support the delivery of key messages around diabetes education and awareness. This includes through a digital diabetes platform which is developing educational resources for T1DE.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) scope and (b) support the development of (i) moderated online, (ii) in-person and (iii) other models of peer support networks for people with Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders (T1DE).
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England works in close partnership with national charities and organisations that support people living with type 1 diabetes, including by facilitating and supporting peer support opportunities.
For example, NHS England has collaborated with Diabetes UK, Breakthrough Type 1 Diabetes and people with lived experience, to produce The Six Principles of Good Peer Support for People Living with Type 1 Diabetes statement which aims to promote the standards required for peer support to both clinicians and those who are looking to access peer support opportunities. These are available at the following link:
Diabetes UK also runs the Together Type 1 Programme which aims to create a supportive environment where young people can connect with others who understand the challenges of living with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes UK also has a network of regional teams that facilitate local peer support groups and activities. More information on the programme is available at the following link:
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/support-for-you/community-support-and-forums/type-1-youth-programme
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps with (a) diabetes and (b) eating disorder charities to support national campaigns tackling (i) stigma and (ii) media representation of Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national diabetes programme works closely with charity partners including Diabetes UK who take a multi-pronged approach to reducing stigma experienced by those with all types of diabetes. This includes raising awareness of the complex and serious nature of type 1 diabetes, including type 1 disordered eating (T1DE), providing support to those that experience stigma, and supporting research into stigma and how it can be reduced or prevented.
NHS England is partnering with the National Institute for Health and Care Research to deliver a qualitative evaluation of the five current T1DE pilot sites. A core element of this approach has been engagement with service users to understand their experiences of having the condition, both before and during their involvement with the T1DE service.
The National Diabetes Experience Survey led by NHS England is a further mechanism for understanding the experiences of those living with type 1 diabetes, including T1DE, to inform national and local approaches to improvement.
In response to feedback on the experiences of people of all ages who live with diabetes, NHS England published the guide, Language Matters: language and diabetes, for health care professionals which sets out the good practice principles for interactions with people living with diabetes including around reducing stigma. The guide is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/language-matters-language-and-diabetes/
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve training for (a) GPs and (b) other healthcare practitioners to (i) recognise and (ii) manage Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders (T1DE).
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standard of training for healthcare professionals is the responsibility of the independent professional regulators, who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses and universities to write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the outcome standards. Post-graduate training curricula is set by the relevant Royal College.
Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all emphasise the skills and approaches a healthcare practitioner must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including for type 1 diabetes with disordered eating.
Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy for NHS England to create a dedicated registry for people with (a) type 1 diabetes and (b) Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders (T1DE) to improve (i) prevalence data and (ii) patient support.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Diabetes Audit is the primary mechanism for collecting data in England on the care and outcomes of people living with diabetes, helping to inform healthcare practice and policy.
The National Diabetes Audit could serve as a registry for type 1 disordered eating (T1DE) in the future. An agreed definition of T1DE supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will be important to enable diagnosis, data recording and establishing data collection processes.
NHS England works closely with NICE to understand emerging areas for consideration in national guidance and has committed to share the current pilot site evaluation outcomes, when available, with NICE to ensure findings are considered in the development of future guidance.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to require Integrated Care Boards to provide sustainable funding to enable (a) the continuation of successful pilot projects on Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders and (b) those projects to become regional centres of excellence.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has provided up to £1.5 million a year for the five current Type 1 Disordered Eating pilots for three years. This funding is transferred to integrated care boards on an annual basis and in 2025/26 has been ringfenced.
Decisions on funding for future years have yet to be taken.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Integrated Care Boards will be required to provide sustainable funding for successful pilot projects on Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders so that they can become regional centres of excellence.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has provided up to £1.5 million a year for the five current Type 1 Disordered Eating pilots for three years. This funding is transferred to integrated care boards on an annual basis and in 2025/26 has been ringfenced.
Decisions on funding for future years have yet to be taken.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes and eating disorders (T1DE) among healthcare professionals in diabetes and eating disorder services; and whether they plan to establish a national framework for preventing T1DE, including risk screening tools for use in clinical practice.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is currently funding five Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) Pilots, with the aim of increasing understanding of the characteristics and care needs of people with T1DE, assessing the feasibility of the service delivery model and build the evidence base for an integrated diabetes and mental health pathway.
Pilot sites are delivering a national high level service specification alongside testing local novel approaches to improving care including to awareness raising of the condition amongst both diabetes and eating disorder health care professionals.
A national evaluation is currently underway to assess the impact of the five current pilot services. NHS England will review the evaluation findings to understand further opportunities to promote awareness of Type 1 disordered eating amongst healthcare professionals.
NHS England works alongside its partners to support the delivery of key messages around diabetes education and awareness. This includes through a digital diabetes platform which is developing educational resources for T1DE.
No assessment has been made of the merits of creating a national framework.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will support the creation of an international symposium of experts on type 1 diabetes and eating disorders to share best practice and guidance on diagnosis and treatment.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the merits of creating an international symposium of experts on type 1 diabetes and eating disorders. NHS England is currently funding five Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) pilots, with the aim of increasing understanding of the characteristics and care needs of people with T1DE, assessing the feasibility of the service delivery model and build the evidence base for an integrated diabetes and mental health pathway.
A national evaluation is currently underway to assess the impact of the five current pilot services. NHS England will review the evaluation findings to understand further opportunities to promote awareness of T1DE amongst healthcare professionals.