Saturday 7 May 2016

Diabetes Prevention – Such Fun

I’m not being sarcastic.

I am having such a good time.  I’m not saying it’s not hard work but as a manager I love getting my teeth stuck into something and the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NDPP) certainly provides that.
The NDPP is the first Diabetes Prevention programme to be rolled out at national scale in the world!


The aim is to provide a behavioural intervention which delays or prevents people in England, who are at high risk, of getting type 2 diabetes.  
There is a lot of scepticism
A significant number of people at risk of diabetes feel well; are working age and are juggling families and aging parents.  An, intervention that is at least a nine month commitment, with a minimum of 13 education and exercise sessions of one to two hours per session; mostly in groups – may not be that appealing.
After all if only under 10% of people, who have already been diagnosed with diabetes attend patient education, (see earlier blog) then are people going to attend who have not been diagnosed with a condition? 
However, currently there are nearly 6 million people at risk of diabetes in England (a prevalence of 11.2%).  There is an expectation that 100,000 people per year will go through the programme by 2020 which is (and I’m stretching my mathematical ability here, so shout if I’m wrong) only about 1.7% of the at risk population.  Put like that it sounds more achievable?
Some helpful things for managers to know are:

·       The NDPP behavioral intervention is being commissioned and funded directly by NHS England (Yes – that is unusual. Normally NHS England only directly commission things like specialist services and prisons).

·        Four organisations have been invited to join the national framework; Reed Momenta; Pulse Healthcare Limited trading as ICS Health and Wellbeing; Health Exchange CIC and Ingeus UK Limited; and the contract management has been awarded to South Coast and Western Commissioning Support Unit.

·        You can see your local prevalence in the recently published, National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network (NCVIN) CVD: Primary care Intelligence packs.

·        It is for CCGs/LAs to work locally to provide the support, incentives, funding to primary care to help identify and refer to the programme.  The letter on the 16th of February providing CCGs with more information on the content for local Sustainability and Transformation Plans says:

“as a minimum, we expect that all plans will: describe a local cross-partner prevention plan, with particular action on national priorities of obesity and diabetes” and that “access to sustainability and transformation funding will be linked to successful STP work”. 
When I speak to any primary care clinicians they all see, nearly every day, someone who is overweight; has familial history of diabetes; had gestational diabetes; etc, and find it difficult because they have little they can offer to divert the potential progression to diabetes. 
But we have something now.
Yes it is going to be a huge challenge but with 700 people a day receiving the life changing diagnosis of diabetes - haven’t we got to try?
As a manager I love a challenge and I am certainly going to enjoy supporting this one.

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