Call to fund diabetes monitoring devices
There are growing calls to publicly fund a wearable device that can be life-changing for diabetics in order to help the increasing number of people in the Hutt Valley with poorly controlled diabetes.
In April, the district health board noted that the proportion of patients in the area with ‘‘unmanaged diabetes’’ was increasing. The number of patients who had no blood sugar recording on file had also risen to 1262. The board said the pandemic could be partly to blame for the uptick.
‘‘Anecdotally, a portion of the population was reluctant to visit their GP while the level of risk for contracting Covid-19 in the community was uncertain,’’ said Rachel Haggerty, who works for both the Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast health boards. ‘‘This may have had an impact on the monitoring and control of diabetes.’’
Haggerty said the organisation was concerned about the trend and was working with public health organisations to help general practices be more proactive in managing the health of diabetics, particularly Ma¯ori and Pacific people, who are more likely to have the condition than other ethnic groups.
Grace Kitchen was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes in May this year. The 17-year-old, from Lower Hutt, ended up in
the emergency department after showing symptoms of diabetes, including being tired, thirsty and struggling to sleep. Her blood sugar had spiked to three to seven times above safe levels.
She is still adjusting to life with diabetes, which involves pricking her finger before and after every meal to test her blood sugar and adjust insulin doses accordingly.
In Kitchen’s view, the most important way the Government could better support people with diabetes would be to fund FreeStyle Libre blood glucose monitors, which can cost up to $200 per month.
These small, disposable sensors are worn on the back of the upper arm and automatically measure glucose levels. The user can check their blood sugar levels by scanning a handheld reader or their cellphone over the sensor.
‘‘It would be beneficial for someone to have this because it means they don’t have to prick their finger to get a reading of blood sugar levels.’’
Sue Mexted’s late husband, Steve, had type-1 diabetes for most of his life. He died on April 27 after one of his kidneys was removed due to cancer and his other kidney failed. He had a transplant but that also failed.
She said Steve, who was from Wellington, was active and good at managing his blood sugar levels. He had a FreeStyle Libre blood glucose monitor which he found helpful. Like Kitchen, she wanted to see them funded.
Diabetes New Zealand also supports public funding of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) like FreeStyle Libre.
Pharmac is in charge of funding blood glucose monitors. Director of operations Lisa Williams said it funded four different blood glucose meters, including a dual meter that measured both blood glucose and ketones, and insulin pumps for people who met certain clinical criteria.
It was evaluating three funding applications for monitors; FreeStyle Libre, Medtronic, and Dexcom G6. The FreeStyle Libre Flash had been reviewed by the diabetes subcommittee and recommended for funding, but it was not possible to provide a time frame for funding decisions.