Technology, injections & supplies

Omnipod 5 now works with the Dexcom G7 in the UK: what changes

From early 2025, the tubeless Omnipod 5 hybrid closed loop can pair with the Dexcom G7 sensor in the UK. Here is what that combination offers and who it is for.

Written by Updated 26 February 2025 5 min read
The 60-second answer

If you use an Omnipod 5 pump, or you are waiting for one, it can now take its glucose readings from a third sensor in the UK: the Dexcom G7. Diabetes UK confirmed this on 26 February 2025. It is a compatibility update, not a new pump and not a cure. Omnipod 5 is a tubeless hybrid closed loop, so the pod sits straight on your skin and adjusts your background insulin using the sensor. You still dose for meals, and whether it suits you runs through your NHS diabetes team.

  • A hybrid closed loop is a pump and glucose sensor that talk to each other, so the pump adjusts your background insulin (the steady drip that runs day and night) by itself.
  • The new part is only the sensor list: Dexcom G7 joins the Libre 2 Plus and Dexcom G6 that Omnipod 5 already worked with.
  • Hybrid means it is not hands-off; you still count carbs and give the mealtime dose, and it is not a cure.
  • You still treat lows yourself with fast sugar: automation lowers the day-to-day load, it does not remove it.
  • Whether you are eligible, and how you would get it, go through your NHS diabetes team, not something you switch to alone.
What changed

A new sensor option, not a new pump

On 26 February 2025, Diabetes UK confirmed that Omnipod 5 can pair with the Dexcom G7 in the UK. Until then it worked with the FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus and the Dexcom G6. The pump and the algorithm inside it are the same; the only change is that it can now read glucose from the G7 too.

A continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, is the small sensor worn on your skin that checks glucose every few minutes and sends the number over automatically. Which one suits a given person is not one-size-fits-all: they differ in how long each lasts, how you start it, and the alarms. That is a conversation with your team, not a rush to the newest one.

How it works

What a tubeless closed loop actually does

The pod is the insulin pump itself: it sticks to your skin with no tubing, and you control it from a handset or phone app. Every few minutes it reads your sensor and makes small changes to your background insulin, easing it up when you drift high and reducing or pausing it when you head low. Some people call this an artificial pancreas, though it is only partly automatic.

That is the key point. The system handles the slow between-meals drift and the overnight hours, where a lot of the mental load and lost sleep usually sit. But you still count the carbs in a meal and give the dose, and you still act on a low. How much steadier your numbers get varies with the sensor, your meals, and the settings your team sets up with you.

Availability

Available now, with eligibility as the gate

This is not a far-off or overseas-only launch: Omnipod 5 is available in the UK now, and hybrid closed loop systems are being rolled out on the NHS. The honest position is that the technology is here, but it comes with eligibility criteria, so whether and when you get it depends on those and your local service, through your specialist diabetes team, rather than on the sensor news itself.

What varies

What this looks like differs from person to person

None of this lands the same for everyone. One person finds a closed loop steadies their nights and frees up headspace; another finds the difference smaller, or the alarms harder to live with. That is why it is worked out with your team rather than read off a spec sheet.

which sensor suits youhow much automation helpswhether you are eligible yethow tubeless feels to wearalarms and sensor accuracythe settings your team chooses
What to notice

Worth keeping in mind

A closed loop still needs you to count carbs and dose for meals; the automation works between meals and overnight, not at the plate.
It does not remove lows, so keep fast sugar (like juice or glucose tabs) on you and treat a low the usual way whatever the pump is doing.
If a pod fails, insulin can stop reaching you, so keep backup pens and your manual know-how ready and follow your team on what to do if the loop stops.
If you then feel unwell with high glucose, check ketones if you can and contact your diabetes team or NHS 111.
Being sick, drowsy, breathing hard or fast, stomach pain, or fruity-smelling breath alongside high glucose can mean DKA, a dangerous emergency from a lack of insulin: ring 999 or go to A and E straight away, and never let testing delay the call.
What to ask your team

Questions that make an appointment useful

"Am I eligible for a hybrid closed loop like Omnipod 5, and where does my local service put me for it?"
"Which sensor would suit me best alongside it, the Dexcom G7, the Dexcom G6, or the Libre 2 Plus, and why?"
"If I already loop with another sensor, is there any real reason to move to the G7, or is staying put fine?"
"Can we walk through how meals and my settings are handled on an automated system, so I know what changes and what stays the same?"
"What should I do if the pod or the sensor fails while I am looping?"
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