Medicine supply issues are caused by a wide range of factors as the production of medicines is complex and highly regulated and materials and processes must meet rigorous safety and quality standards. The Department has well-established processes in place to manage disruption to supply.

There are supply issues with GLP-1 receptor agonists, including semaglutide (Ozempic and Rybelsus), dulaglutide (Trulicity) and liraglutide (Victoza) in the United Kingdom, which are licensed for treating patients with type 2 diabetes. The Department has issued Medicine Supply Notifications for Ozempic (semaglutide injection) and Trulicity (dulaglutide injection), advising healthcare professionals not to initiate new patients and to use these medicines for their licensed indications. Additional Medicine Supply Notifications will also be issued soon for Victoza (liraglutide injection) and Rybelsus (semaglutide tablets) advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients requiring these medicines.

There is a supply disruption affecting Tresiba FlexTouch (insulin degludec) pens in the UK, which are licensed for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in adults, adolescents and children from the age of one years old. The Department has issued a Medicine Supply Notification, advising healthcare professionals not to initiate new patients on Tresiba FlexTouch pens and to use Tresiba Penfill cartridges as an alternative.

The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme operates to identify people who are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and refers them onto a nine-month, evidence-based lifestyle change programme. Latest figures in February 2023 shows a 20% reduction in risk for those who are referred to the programme compared to those who are not.

Additionally, the National Health Service is delivering a low calorie diet programme for people who are overweight and living with type 2 diabetes.

We have announced plans for a new Major Conditions Strategy to tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England which include cancers, cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions.

The Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel considers the latest evidence on the patients most at risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19 and provides advice to the National Health Service on the appropriate patient cohorts for new therapies. Patients with diabetes were not identified in the initial patient cohorts currently receiving these treatments.

However, the PANORAMIC study is gathering further evidence on those patients who would benefit from oral antiviral treatments, including patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The results from this study will inform clinical access policy for these treatments through the NHS, including any expansion of the current eligible patient cohorts. Any such changes would be proposed by the NHS and agreed by the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers.

The Department and its arm’s length bodies maintain a continuous dialogue with colleagues across government on a range of issues, including how best to meet the health needs of schoolchildren.

It is important that children with medical conditions such as diabetes are supported appropriately. Statutory guidance for governing bodies of maintained schools and proprietors of academies in England is the guidance agreed between the Department of Health and Department for Education for schools in 2014 (and reviewed since) on their responsibilities for supporting children and young people in school who have a health condition, including managing their access to medicines, and other adjustments necessary to maintain their health and wellbeing while at school. This includes supporting children with diabetes.

We know how important it is that children with medical conditions such as diabetes are supported to enjoy a full education. That is why we introduced the duty to require governing bodies to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions and have provided statutory guidance outlining schools’ responsibilities in this area.

As part of this guidance, we have provided a collection of links to useful resources to help schools support their pupils with medical conditions. This includes a link to the ‘diabetes in schools’ section of the Diabetes UK website. As of 15 June 2016, Diabetes UK estimate that 95% of under 19s with diabetes in the UK have Type 1 diabetes.

We also continue to work with organisations such as the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance to help raise further awareness of the duty on schools, and have recently promoted the duty through the department’s social media channels.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are primarily responsible for commissioning services to meet the requirements of their population including Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes services. In doing so, CCGs need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population and are based on the available evidence and take into account national guidelines.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a wealth of guidance on the management and care of people with diabetes including the recently updated guidelines for the management of Type 2 diabetes in adults which are available at:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/resources/type-2-diabetes-in-adults-management-1837338615493

It recommends that all people with diabetes should receive an annual health check to monitor and manage their condition, as well as reduce the risk of associated complications, such as heart, kidney and eye disease and amputations. These annual checks, some of which include blood tests, monitor body mass index, blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol and signs of early complications (e.g. surveillance for foot, eye and kidney disease). They provide the cornerstone of routine care for people with diabetes and the majority are incentivised through the Quality and Outcomes Framework which is a voluntary annual reward and incentive programme for all general practitioner surgeries in England, detailing practice achievement results.

The foot check enables health care professional to annually assess the risk of diabetic foot disease in people with diabetes. Guidelines help then to decide when to refer cases to a multidisciplinary foot care service or foot protection service (both of which include a podiatrist) for those identified at moderate or high risk. This is outlined in the NICE Guideline on Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management which can be found at:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng19

The national diabetic retinopathy screening programme provides an opportunity for all people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to have an annual eye check.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are primarily responsible for commissioning services to meet the requirements of their population including Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes services. In doing so, CCGs need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population and are based on the available evidence and take into account national guidelines.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a wealth of guidance on the management and care of people with diabetes including the recently updated guidelines for the management of Type 2 diabetes in adults which are available at:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/resources/type-2-diabetes-in-adults-management-1837338615493

It recommends that all people with diabetes should receive an annual health check to monitor and manage their condition, as well as reduce the risk of associated complications, such as heart, kidney and eye disease and amputations. These annual checks, some of which include blood tests, monitor body mass index, blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol and signs of early complications (e.g. surveillance for foot, eye and kidney disease). They provide the cornerstone of routine care for people with diabetes and the majority are incentivised through the Quality and Outcomes Framework which is a voluntary annual reward and incentive programme for all general practitioner surgeries in England, detailing practice achievement results.

The foot check enables health care professional to annually assess the risk of diabetic foot disease in people with diabetes. Guidelines help then to decide when to refer cases to a multidisciplinary foot care service or foot protection service (both of which include a podiatrist) for those identified at moderate or high risk. This is outlined in the NICE Guideline on Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management which can be found at:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng19

The national diabetic retinopathy screening programme provides an opportunity for all people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to have an annual eye check.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are primarily responsible for commissioning services to meet the requirements of their population including Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes services. In doing so, CCGs need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population and are based on the available evidence and take into account national guidelines.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a wealth of guidance on the management and care of people with diabetes including the recently updated guidelines for the management of Type 2 diabetes in adults which are available at:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/resources/type-2-diabetes-in-adults-management-1837338615493

It recommends that all people with diabetes should receive an annual health check to monitor and manage their condition, as well as reduce the risk of associated complications, such as heart, kidney and eye disease and amputations. These annual checks, some of which include blood tests, monitor body mass index, blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol and signs of early complications (e.g. surveillance for foot, eye and kidney disease). They provide the cornerstone of routine care for people with diabetes and the majority are incentivised through the Quality and Outcomes Framework which is a voluntary annual reward and incentive programme for all general practitioner surgeries in England, detailing practice achievement results.

The foot check enables health care professional to annually assess the risk of diabetic foot disease in people with diabetes. Guidelines help then to decide when to refer cases to a multidisciplinary foot care service or foot protection service (both of which include a podiatrist) for those identified at moderate or high risk. This is outlined in the NICE Guideline on Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management which can be found at:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng19

The national diabetic retinopathy screening programme provides an opportunity for all people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to have an annual eye check.