Manx Care hoping to improve diabetes services in 2024

Charity hopeful that funding requests will be approved

Planned improvements to diabetes services on the Island will be ‘amazing’ when they come to fruition.

That’s the view of Diabetes Isle of Man which has been raising the profile of the condition to Tynwald members in conjunction with World Diabetes Day.  

Manx Care has since told Manx Radio it’s applying for funding to develop a retinal eye screening facility and for more advanced technology to help people who live with diabetes.

The team at the Manx Centre for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism - which was previously known as the Diabetes Centre - has served local residents for nearly 25 years.

The health body says it offers the ‘full range of subspecialist services’ which are available at most UK diabetes centres and, until March 2022, also offered small-scale retinopathy screening.

‘The Manx Diabetes Service coordinates the care of approximately 90 percent of local people with type 1 diabetes (UK average <50 percent); is ahead of the UK average in adoption of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology; and supervises insulin pump treatment in approximately 24 percent of local people with type 1 diabetes (UK average 12 percent).’ Manx Care

Manx Care adds that retinopathy screening is an ‘essential component’ of diabetes care and this service is identified as statutory under its mandate.

A business case to deliver this has been approved by the Department of Health and Social Care and a request for targeted funding has been submitted to Treasury.

Subject to this funding being included in the 2024-25 healthcare Budget Manx Care expects this service to become operational in 2024.

Natasha Parry is the development manager for Diabetes Isle of Man and says she hopes the requests for funding are approved:

Manx Care is also developing a ‘living well with chronic illness’ service which will be open to all patients who have a chronic disease.

It adds that it works in partnership with Diabetes Isle of Man to offer ‘peer support’.