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Written question asked by Keith Vaz (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 January 2018, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 19 January 2018. It was answered by Steve Brine (Conservative) on Thursday, 25 January 2018 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are plans to ensure that the FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring system is available to all people with diabetes.

Answer

Freestyle Libre has been approved for reimbursement on National Health Service prescription from 1 November through listing in Part IX of the England and Wales Drug Tariff. The Drug Tariff is a price list, and the listing of Freestyle Libre should not be interpreted as a recommendation to prescribe it. Patients will need to discuss the ongoing management of their condition with their healthcare professional and consider whether flash glucose monitoring is suitable for them.

NHS England has established four Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees (RMOC) that are responsible for providing guidance on the use of drugs and other technologies that are not being assessed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

The RMOC (North) has issued guidance on the use of Freestyle Libre suggesting a careful start to its use and data collection to better understand the benefits. The Committee’s recommendations are available in full at:

https://www.sps.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Flash-Glucose-monitoring-System-RMOC-Statement-final-2.pdf

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
123316
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Diabetes Medical equipment
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk