diabetes care in the uk

Hi all.......I am a UK citizen living in California with my US wife and children, I am working on getting us back to the UK but one of the things that i have to look into is diabetes care as both my children are type 1 insulin dependant.
On a recent trip i had to buy some extra strips and the chemist asked for my prescription, i told her that i wasnt a resident and she told me that diabetes supplies are covered by the NHS.
Heres the thing both my kids wear the insulin pump and im trying to find out if the supplies for it are covered (reseviours, tubing and the thing that sticks into them.
from what i can figure out it depends whether the GP will approve the prescription for pump and supplies, i already have brand new pumps with aprrox 4-7 year lifespans on them but cant find a straight answer on the supplies being covered,.......pumps are recommended by NICE as a superior way to control blood sugars qand it seems the squeeky wheel gets the oil
can anyone shed some light on this.......i did notice someone on here with type 1

thanks in advance........Garth

My BF is diabetic, but doesn't have an insulin pump, so I'm not sure about that. Have you tried www.nhsdirect.com? If the answer to your question isn't posted there, they're very good at replying to queries. I've always found them helpful.

The other thing that's a plus about the NHS is that if you have an ongoing condition such as diabetes, all meds are covered 100% for you, regardless of whether or not they have anything to do with the diabetes!

Take a look at www.diabetes.org.uk. You might have to dig a bit to find information about pump supplies but I used it to verify that my medicines and test strips were available here.

The other thing that's a plus about the NHS is that if you have an ongoing condition such as diabetes, all meds are covered 100% for you, regardless of whether or not they have anything to do with the diabetes!

I am also pretty sure that you will be assigned a nurse who specialises in diabetes.  I have an asthma nurse, and I think diabetes is treated the same.

garfo.  my sister in law is diabetic- i know she takes insulin tablets (pills).  i will ask her if she has ever been told about the insulin pump.  but on another note- she sees a specialist diabetic team at her local surgery.  she is highly complmentary of them.  i'll ask her and post.

Hi there garfro.

I have good and bad news for you. The good news is that your kids diabetes care will be totally covered by the NHS and you will not have to pay for anything. The bad news is it really depends on where you move to as to whether the insulin pump will be covered. Different health authorities may have differing views. The best thing you could do is closer to the time of your move back is to contact the GP in the area you are moving to. The GP will be able to tell you which local paediatrician is responsible for diabetes care in the area, and you will be able to contact him or her and find out for sure what is covered.

As it is already being used for effective diabetes control it may be that you will be able to carry on and that it would be covered. The trouble is that these pumps are expensive and there are strict guidelines on who gets them. In my opinion I would imagine that your pumps would be covered. I can't see a consultant stopping an already effective treatment.

I don't know of any children in Cumbria (where I work) who are using the pump. The qualification criteria are very strict.  A child should already be using a basal bolus regime and be very good at carbohydrate counting. Pumps are only indicated where a standard basal bolus regime has not resulted in good control but good compliance has been seen. The routine for diabetes care in this country is pretty standardised so you should expect that your kids will 4 check ups a year. One of these will be a more in depth check up. At these clinics you should be seen by a dietitian, a paediatric nurse who specialised in diabetes care, and your consultant. Notice I say should!

If you don't mind me asking how have your kids HbA1c figures been since moving on the pumps? (long range figures)

Also I am sure you already know this but blood glucose is measured differently in this country so you need to be aware of this when talking to health care professionals here. We use mmol/l as a measurement. Your glucometer should be able to switch between values easily.

Hope this is useful.

Kel.

Hello again garfro.

I have been doing a little digging into the insulin pumps. There are quite a few kids in the North East region who have been switched to the pump. BUT, it is very dependant on the consultant who's care you will under. I have just heard of one consultant who will not entertain the use of the pumps and has said he will swap any child who comes under his care back to injections.

The real issue is money as usual. And if you happen to live in an area that will fund the consumables then you'll be in luck. At the moment there is no national standard approach and it's pretty much down to where you live.

Just wanted to update my last post as I didn't want to mislead you, especially as I had said I couldn't imagine a successful treatment being stopped.

Where would you be considering living when you return? I could do a little digging on your behalf if you'd like. Feel free to PM me with details if you don't want to post on a public board.

Kel.

EDIT.

Have found out that some of the larger GP surgeries will fund the consumables, so your gp to be will be a very good place to start.

Kel