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It always makes me bemused when we talk about yet another contract. We fail to actually monitor, adhere to, understand the present contract so to suggest yet another modification will solve it all is steeped in naivety.

Most managers I have encountered have not actually gone through a gruelling course or understanding of the consultant contract – which isn't their fault – so to expect them to monitor and hold people to account is also a bit simplistic, if not fool hardy.

The consultant contract is fundamentally different from say a GP contract or a nurse contract – so to use the same tools to dive efficiency – if that's the new buzzword – not too surprisingly doesn't work. To read more, click here.

JDRF’s Chief Executive in the UK is supporting calls for greater recognition of the needs of people with Type 1 diabetes in developing countries.

Speaking in praise of the #insulin4all, Karen Addington is calling on people to join the campaign launched for World Diabetes Day.

The campaign – formed by The Pendsey Trust and T1International – is drawing attention to those with the condition who struggle to survive in countries where they cannot afford insulin and other essential diabetes management tools. 

Mrs Addington said: “Surviving and thriving with the condition should not depend on where you live. To read more, click here.

Government plans to cut wait times for new treatments in half could be a major boost in the fight to deliver the artificial pancreas for those living with Type 1 diabetes, according to JDRF.

Ministers are attempting to drastically increase the speed at which the NHS can introduce new therapies, The Times reported this week. To read more, click here.

2014 X Factor contestant Helen Fulthorpe – whose son lives with Type 1 diabetes – has become an ambassador for JDRF.

She will help the charity to raise awareness of the condition and will be performing at its annual Christmas Celebration Concert in London in December. To read more, click here.

People with diabetes are being denied the opportunity to effectively monitor their blood glucose levels because their prescriptions for test strips are being restricted, according to a new survey by Diabetes UK.

Of the respondents who said they had experienced restrictions, 39 per cent were people with Type 1 diabetes, which Diabetes UK has described as “alarming” because everyone with Type 1 needs to use test strips every day. It also suggested that 51 per cent of respondents with Type 2 diabetes are having access to the strips restricted.

Of about 1,300 people who answered a question about their access to test strips as part of the online survey, 46 per cent had had prescriptions refused or restricted within the last 12 months. To read more, click here.

A person with Type 1 diabetes has for the first time ever been implanted with an experimental encapsulated cell therapy product which could represent a potential replacement source of insulin-producing cells.

JDRF has been working with US company ViaCyte for a number of years to support the development of a product that could pprovide a way for people with Type 1 diabetes to produce insulin ‘on demand’ without pumps or sensors.

To read more, click here.