New diabetes kit cut back in the Lothians
NHS Lothian has restricted access to a ‘crucial’ new diabetes treatment in a move blamed on funding constraints.
The health board said it had taken a ‘difficult decision’ to limit the availability of insulin pumps to children and pregnant women amid ‘exponentially’ rising demand for the technology.
One woman who used a hybrid closed loop pump, which allows patients to administer insulin and monitor their glucose levels constantly, was told money for the device had been pulled after having received it.
An MSP warned of a ‘postcode lottery’, claiming Scottish Government mismanagement had forced the health board to ration the devices.
Miles Briggs, Tory member for the Lothians, said: “I understand the impossible position NHS Lothian have been put in by the Scottish Government in terms of funding.
“But the patients losing out here won’t care who’s to blame. The bottom line is that a crucial treatment for diabetes patients is now being limited, and that will have a negative impact on their wellbeing and quality of life.
“The Scottish Government put it in black and white that it was totally committed to improve the care of patients with diabetes. Yet its short-sighted approach and poor stewardship of the NHS means, for many patients, things are only getting worse. SNP ministers are creating a postcode lottery for diabetes patients, with patients in NHS Lothian losing out on life changing technology compared to other parts of Scotland.”
Mr Briggs has now written to health secretary Neil Gray to express concern over the issue. In a letter sent to the MSP after he took up the matter with the health board, a senior NHS Lothian nurse said it was ‘committed to improving access’ to the new technologies.
However, she added: “Within NHS Lothian, and in line with other Health Boards in Scotland and the UK, there is limited funding to provide this, with demand for technology rising exponentially.
“NHS Lothian have made the difficult decision to prioritise the limited number of funded insulin pumps available to children and young people and pregnant women.”
SNP ministers are creating a postcode lottery for diabetes patients