The New Year started off with some positive news when Professor Kamlesh Khunti was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year’s Honours List for services to health.
A hospital discharge guideline and pregnancy guidance was also released in January by the Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care (JBDS-IP).
Later that month Dr Mayank Patel and Professor Partha Kar OBE created a comic magazine to mark 100 years since insulin was first administered to a human. New research showed that the Low Carb Programme saves the NHS £117 per person each year.
Meanwhile, the CamAPS FX app was found to improve glycaemic control in very young children with type 1 diabetes. Also in January, Debbie Hicks and Professor Melanie Davies CBE took part in the DT Big Interview.
A story which hit the headlines this month was that the Low Carb Program app becoming available through the EMIS App Library after it scored full marks in its EMIS assessment.
Meanwhile, latest research found that continuous glucose monitoring is more effective for maintaining glycaemic control amongst people with type 1 diabetes than self-monitoring blood glucose levels with injections.
In February, the JBDS updated its hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state management guidelines. People living with diabetes in the UK could also access the first pre-filled glucagon pen for the treatment of severe hypoglycaemia.
Also that month, Dr Amar Puttanna was the latest guest to feature in the Big Interview.
In March, NICE recommended the use of real-time continuous glucose monitoring for adults and children with type 1 diabetes for the first time.
DDM Health received funding from NHSX to roll out the Gro Health app across Barts Health NHS Trust. In addition, Abbott's FreeStyle Libre 3 became available for use in the UK.
The Diabetes Times Editor Oliver Jelley spoke with Dr Naresh Kanumilli in the latest edition of the Big Interview.
Also in March, the JBDS updated its hypoglycaemia management guideline and a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals produced an informative poster on how to improve diabetes care following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the InDependent Diabetes Trust (IDDT) sent a collection of essential supplies over to Ukraine amid fears that vital diabetes-related items were running out.
According to findings presented at the Advanced Technologies and Treatments of Diabetes (ATTD) conference in April, insulin glargine 300U/ml for people with type 1 diabetes met primary endpoint in the InRange head-to-head study versus insulin degludec.
The National Advisory Panel on Care Home Guidance (NAPCHD) published its first set of care home and diabetes guidelines in April. Also during the month, an innovative hybrid closed system was trialled in 35 NHS diabetes centres across the country. Additionally, Abbott, CamDiab and Ypsomed worked together to develop and commercialise an integrated, automated insulin delivery system to improve the lives of people with diabetes.
Also that month, new meta-analysis reported that the FreeStyle® Libre system provides significant reductions in HbA1c that are sustained over two years in adults with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
In May, Dr Punith Kempegoda's team from DEKODE and the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust won the Rowan Hillson Award 2022 for a cloud-based DKA management monitoring system.
Earlier that month, the JBDS published an updated frailty guideline. In addition, research concluded that GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy could reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular causes and fatal or non-fatal stroke in people with type 2 diabetes.
Also during May, primary and secondary care teams across the UK and Ireland took part in Insulin Safety Week. A national trial found that the NHS Low Calorie Diet Programme can help people put their type 2 diabetes into remission.
And, a peripheral arterial disease pathway was published by the Vascular Society in May.
June was a big month for the diabetes community when news broke that Abbott is developing a first-of-its-kind biowearable that will continuously monitor glucose and ketone levels in one sensor.
The Trend Diabetes National Conference returned that month for the first time in nearly two years to share best practice in diabetes nursing. Earlier in June, Dr Fiona Campbell and Professor May Ng were awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for their services to diabetes care.
The Diabetes 10 Point Training (D10PT) programme became available to health and social care staff in June via the Cambridge Diabetes Education Programme (CDEP). The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency published updated metformin and B12 guidance.
Meanwhile, research published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that tirzepatide is a good treatment option for obesity. And new metabolic frailty phenotyping guidance was published by the Foundation for Diabetes Research in Older People (fDROP).
Also in June, a flash and CGM education pack for primary care professionals was put together by the Effective Diabetes Education Now (EDEN) programme. Professor Ketan Dhatariya also featured in that month’s edition of The Inpatient Podcast.
In July, Hallmark Care Homes and DUET diabetes held training sessions on the latest set of comprehensive guidelines from the National Advisory Panel on Care Home Guidance (NAPCHD).
A study by Charlotte Summers and a team of researchers revealed the attitudes of people with diabetes towards sharing COVID-19 data. An in-person event dedicated to heart failure, renal and diabetes was hosted by the British Society for Heart Failure (BSH) Nurse Forum, the Association of Nephrology Nurses (ANN) UK and the Diabetes Specialist Nurse (DSN) Forum UK in July.
Also that month, researchers found that a long-term cell transplant programme helps individuals with hard-to-control type 1 diabetes stabilise their blood sugars. July saw the Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) publish new guidance to ensure that diabetes information documented by healthcare teams is captured in a single, digital space that is easily shareable between different systems.
Behind the Science was also relaunched this month while a YouGov survey reported that pharmacy services can help tackle type 2 diabetes. Later that month, DDM Health developed and delivered a new initiative in Devon to help colleagues navigate the current challenges they face, promote wellbeing and increase resilience across the staff network.
The NHS rolled out transformational glucose monitors for people with type 1 diabetes in August.
In addition, glycaemic diagnosis criteria outcomes for gestational diabetes were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Earlier that month, Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE was named as one of the most influential people of South Asian origin in the UK.
Also in August, the JBDS published a new dialysis guideline. A new Behind the Science feature on artificial intelligence was also published that month. A study published in the journal Diabetes Care in August reported that existing health disparities amongst ethnic minorities with diabetes have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In September, the American Diabetes Association® (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) released new hyperglycaemia guidance.
That month also saw Dr Omar Mustafa become the new co-chair of the Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care group (JBDS-IP), alongside Professor Ketan Dhatariya. Also in September, DSN Erwin Castro and Diabetes UK Chief Executive Chris Askew OBE took part in the Big Interview.
New data presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting 2022 in September found that more than 36 per cent of adults with type 2 diabetes treated with once-weekly insulin icodec achieved an HbA1c <7.0 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust launched a pilot project in the county to help Polish people living with diabetes in the region. Also that month, the FreeStyle Libre® continuous glucose monitoring system was found to reduce diabetes-related hospitalisations for people with type 2 diabetes on once-daily insulin therapy.
October saw the 12th annual QiC awards recognise initiatives that improve the lives of people living with diabetes.
Hypo Awareness Week took place across the UK and Ireland at the beginning of October. Also that month, Dexcom's new G7 CGM System became available in the UK and Ireland. Tirzepatide was authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) that month.
Meanwhile, a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) comparison chart was published by the Diabetes Specialist Nurse (DSN) Forum UK to help people with type 1 diabetes choose the most appropriate product for them.
Later that month, Luton and Dunstable University Hospital won the Insulin Safety Week Excellence Award for hosting a plethora of educational activities during the campaign.
Additionally, the Low Carb Program was rolled-out across South London in October to educate people with type 2 diabetes, particularly those from ethnic backgrounds.
Diabetes Professional Care returned in November to once again share best practice and boost frontline NHS services.
Also that month, the NHS published six principles of good peer support for people with type 1 diabetes. Additionally, the Leicester Diabetes Centre created an educational infographic which featured in the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) consensus report.
In November, Trend Diabetes launched a new e-learning platform and sensor technology toolkit. In the Big Interview, retired optometrist and co-founder of the charity InDependent Diabetes Trust (IDDT), Jenny Hirst put diabetes technologies under the spotlight.
Earlier that month, East Surrey Hospital won the Hypo Awareness Week Excellence Award for educating healthcare professionals during the annual campaign. In addition, Professor May Ng OBE published a book on type 1 diabetes in November.
In December, Professor Ketan Dhatariya was appointed as the new chair of the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD).
Latest Diabetes UK research also outlined the top research priorities needed for next year to prevent health inequalities. Additionally, new ADA guidance was issued to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to improve diabetes care in 2023.
Meanwhile, Behind the Science continued in December and, finally, the findings of a University of Exeter study suggested that people with diabetes should choose their own medication.
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