NHS to provide artificial pancreas in world-first initiative

Type 1 diabetes causes the level of glucose in a person’s blood to become too high. It occurs when the pancreas cannot produce enough of the hormone insulin, which controls blood glucose. Consequently, people living with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin daily to keep blood glucose levels under control.

Now, the artificial pancreas will continually monitor a person’s blood glucose, automatically adjusting the amount of insulin given to them through a pump.

The rollout of the artificial pancreas follows a pilot of the technology by NHS England, which saw 835 adults and children with type 1 diabetes given devices to improve the management of their condition.

Each year, the NHS in England currently spends around £10bn a year on identifying and treating diabetes.

In a statement, Professor Partha Kar, NHS national speciality advisor for diabetes, said:  “The national roll out of Hybrid Closed Loop systems is great news for everyone with type 1 diabetes.