Appointments & getting better care

A 10-year plan for diabetes care: what Diabetes UK is asking for

Diabetes UK launched a 10-year vision for diabetes care and delivered an open letter to the Prime Minister, signed by over 6,000 supporters.

Written by Updated 15 May 2025 3 min read
The 60-second answer

Diabetes UK has set out a 10-year plan for how diabetes care in the UK should improve, and handed it to the government as an open letter. It is the patient voice trying to shape what the NHS offers people with type 1, and it is something you can add your name to. Nothing changes tomorrow, but campaigns like this are how access to technology, quicker diagnosis and better everyday care get pushed up the priority list.

  • Diabetes UK launched a 10-year vision for diabetes care and delivered an open letter to the Prime Minister, signed by more than 6,000 supporters.
  • The asks include fairer access to technology (like continuous glucose monitors, small sensors that read glucose day and night, and insulin pumps), quicker diagnosis, and better everyday care.
  • It also calls for enough clinic staff, because a pump or sensor means little without the team to set it up and support you.
  • This is about the shape of NHS diabetes care by 2035, not a rule that lands next week.
  • The practical thing you can do is add your name to the campaign and raise what matters to you at your own appointment.
What happened

What Diabetes UK is asking for

On 14 May 2025 Diabetes UK presented a 10-year vision for diabetes care at the House of Commons and handed an open letter to the Prime Minister, backed by over 6,000 supporters. It is worth being clear about what this is: a campaign, the charity setting out what good care should look like over the next decade, rather than a policy that has been agreed or funded. The broad asks are fairer access to diabetes technology, faster and more accurate diagnosis, and better everyday care, including having enough trained staff in clinics to actually deliver it.

What it means

Why it matters if you live with type 1

If you have ever waited a long time for a referral, been told you do not meet the criteria for a sensor, or watched a friend in another area get something you cannot, this campaign is aimed squarely at that. Access to technology still varies from place to place, and thin clinic staffing is part of why. A 10-year plan will not fix any of that overnight; it is a long push to shape NHS priorities. What you can do is concrete: add your name so the numbers behind the campaign grow, share your own experience if you are comfortable, and bring your priorities to your next review so your team knows what you want.

What to notice

Worth knowing

This is a campaign, not a new NHS rule. It sets out what Diabetes UK wants care to look like by 2035.
If access to technology or a long wait has affected you, that experience is exactly what campaigns like this draw on.
You can back it by adding your name to the Diabetes UK campaign and by raising your own priorities at your next appointment.
What to ask your team

Questions that make an appointment useful

"Do I meet the current criteria for a continuous glucose monitor or an insulin pump, and if not, what would change that?"
"If I am waiting for a referral, a device or an appointment, what is the realistic timeline?"
"Where can I follow the Diabetes UK campaign and add my name?"
Sources