Labor pledges to provide blood glucose monitoring technology to every child with diabetes

Labor has pledged to give every child with type 1 diabetes a smartphone so they can use new blood sugar monitoring technology.

The phones can track blood sugar levels and work with an “artificial pancreas” that automatically delivers insulin to patients when blood sugar levels are high.

Monitoring children’s blood sugar levels can prevent them from passing out or having seizures.

Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was a “travesty” that the new technology is currently only available to those who can afford a smartphone.

The campaign, in partnership with Virgin Media O2 and the charity Supporting Children with Diabetes, aims to ensure every family can benefit from a smartphone compatible with new technology.

Sir Keir told ITV News: “It’s a travesty that hundreds of children with type 1 diabetes can’t afford a smartphone to use the new monitors that check and monitor blood sugar levels.

“This new technological breakthrough should be available to all children who need it, not those who can afford the device.

“We need an innovative and collaborative approach to tackle this problem head-on. That’s why my Labor government will work with leading businesses to break down barriers to entry.

“Our ten-year plan to transform and modernize the NHS will bring our analogue services into the digital age.

“We will ensure that everyone can benefit from the medical technology revolution. It is about implementing traditional values ​​in a modern environment.

“This is what the incoming, mission-led Labor government is all about. Under my leadership, strong partnerships between government, business and civil society will make our NHS fit for the future and Giving all children the best possible start in life.”

Around 32,000 children in the UK currently live with the condition, but Carolyn Goldhill, founder and chief executive of a charity that supports children with diabetes, said many could not afford a new smartphone and were being Force prick your finger to test the level.

The NHS will identify children with type 1 diabetes who are not using modern glucose monitors and direct them to charities that can provide them with smartphones, Labor said.

The news comes after Sir Keir and shadow health secretary Wes Streeting visited King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, East Midlands, to meet with nurses and patients on the maternity ward.

The pair visited hospitals and highlighted the party’s commitment to digitizing the Red Book of children’s medical records issued to parents as part of a series of changes to the NHS app.

Mr Streeting said: “A healthcare technology revolution is happening before our eyes. Under the Tories, the NHS will not secure the benefits of artificial intelligence and new treatments for patients, but private healthcare will not.

“If this continues, the two-tier healthcare system that is emerging in our country today will widen, the gap between public and private will widen and the NHS will become a poor man’s service. This is a future we must avoid .

“Labour will reform the NHS to make full use of modern technology to deliver better care for all patients.”

Ms Goodhill said she was “delighted” with the partnership, adding: “Since the NHS started offering continuous glucose monitors to children with type 1 diabetes nearly two years ago, we have received a huge number of requests for the phones.

“This technology enables young children to live normal lives while their parents and diabetes nurses can check their blood sugar levels remotely to ensure they are safe.

“Many families do not have the money to buy a phone that is compatible with the device and without our charity parents would be forced to continue pricking their fingers to test blood sugar levels constantly and not be able to separate from their children.

“This partnership will allow us to continue to provide mobile phones to support children from disadvantaged families so they can benefit from the latest technology from the NHS.”

Nicola Green, corporate affairs director at Virgin Media O2, said: “As a person with type 1 diabetes, I have first-hand experience of how smartphone technology can help manage the condition.

“Virgin Media O2’s donation of recycled equipment to organizations supporting children with diabetes will reduce hassle and stress for families affected by diabetes, making monitoring blood sugar levels faster and easier.”