The New Year started off with some positive news when NHS England announced that Dr Clare Hambling has been appointed as the new National Clinical Director of Diabetes Obesity.
A type 1 diabetes technology leaflet was also released in January by NHS England.
Also during this month Lilly receives MHRA authorisation for for tirzepatide solution for injection in an alternative KwikPen® presentation for two indications. New research showed that the Improving the Peri-operative Pathway of People with Diabetes (IP3D) intervention has the potential to increase efficiency and reduce waiting lists for elective surgery.
Meanwhile, Trend Diabetes published a new Ramadan and diabetes leaflet to ensure the safety of Muslim people with diabetes as they observe fasting.
A story which hit the headlines this month was that a new insulin comparison chart was published by the Diabetes Specialist Nurse Forum UK.
Meanwhile, the date was unveiled for the Inpatient Diabetes Conference 2024. In February Professor Pratik Choudhary was appointed the Chair of the Secretary of State for Transport’s Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on driving and diabetes.
Dr Sam Seidu featured in the latest Big Interview and Tembi Chinaire published a new book to highlight how ethnic minority communities can manage type 2 diabetes.
In March, it was announced that NHS England’s National Specialty Advisor for Diabetes Professor Partha Kar was stepping down after eight years in the role.
The Primary Care Diabetes Society and the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists published updated glucose-lowering therapy guidance amid the national shortage of GLP-1 receptor agonists.
In addition, NHS England announced that it would launch the National Diabetes Experience Survey to give people living with either type of diabetes the opportunity to change policy and practice by giving feedback on their care experiences.
Paula Johnston won the British Journal of Nursing’s Diabetes Nurse of the Year Award for demonstrating an individual approach to people living with diabetes by using the essentials of compassionate care and best evidence. Also in March, Trend Diabetes released the agenda for its National Conference 2024.
Meanwhile, the Gro Health W8Buddy platform was shortlisted for a Health Service Journal Digital Award.
In April, hundreds of healthcare professionals attended the Diabetes UK Professional Conference (DUKPC) 2024 in London. During the conference, Professor Roy Taylor revealed that losing weight, and minimising weight regain, was associated with staying in type 2 diabetes remission for a long period of time.
According to findings presented at DUKPC 2024, the diabetes HbA1c test may be inaccurate for thousands of South Asian people in the UK.
Also during April, the NHS started offering hybrid closed-loop systems to individuals with type 1 diabetes.
Additionally, a new study revealed that children and young people with type 1 diabetes are more likely to improve their glycaemic management, time-in-range and quality of life by using a hybrid closed-loop system. This month, the JBDS-IP also published new guidance on using technology to support diabetes care in hospital.
Meanwhile, recruitment was underway for the second Vertex Clinical Trial of transplantation of stem cell-derived pancreatic islets.
May saw CamDiab secure FDA approval for its advanced adaptive hybrid closed-loop app CamAPS FX.
In addition, research concluded that using a combination of sodium-glucose transport protein 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists is beneficial for treating type 2 diabetes.
Also during May, Professor Helen Murphy and Professor Roman Hovorka discussed hybrid closed-loop systems in the latest episode of Talking Diabetes. A study published in May concluded that diabetic peripheral neuropathy can be treated by empagliflozin.
And, a study suggested that diabetes risk is higher among women affected by gestational diabetes. In May, Diabetes UK also called for action to tackle an alarming rise in cases of type 2 diabetes among under 40s.
June was a big month for the diabetes community when the winners of the inaugural Diabetes Nursing Awards were announced.
Trend Diabetes published new recommendations to improve end of life care for people with diabetes. Later in the month the JBDS-IP published a new guideline on glycaemic management and enteral feeding.
Diabetes UK announced in June that failure to prevent diabetes complications is costing the UK healthcare system £6.2 billion a year. Researchers found that metformin use is not associated with a higher birth defect risk.
Meanwhile, the Gro Health W8Buddy platform won the Empowering Patients through Digital prize at the HSJ Digital Awards 2024.
Also this month, optician Sonia Buckley urged people to have an eye exam that could detect diabetes.
In July, the GIRFT Diabetes Inpatient Specialist Nurse ROI data tool was launched.
A study revealed that CamAPS FX improves glycaemic management among young people with type 1 diabetes.
Experts issued a consensus report in July to to support ‘hyperglycaemic crises’ in adults with diabetes.
July was the month Roche received the CE Mark for its Accu-Chek SmartGuide® continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) solution.
Also this month, entries opened for the QiC Awards 2024. July saw the DSN Forum UK call for a competency framework for associate roles.
Research published in July also showed that facial temperatures may help identify type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, responses were wanted for GIRFT’s snapshot inpatient diabetes survey.
A new study published in August shows that CamAPS FX is associated with better glucose management.
Earlier this month, the diabetes community remembered Dr Bob Young who sadly passed away. In addition, registrations opened for a NHS webinar on hybrid closed-loop therapy for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes.
Also in August, Trend Diabetes launched a new leaflet designed to support primary care staff working with people at risk of developing diabetes. A study published this month reported that tirzepatide may reduce type 2 diabetes progression risk.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that tubeless diabetes management is now available as an option for people with type 1 diabetes.
In September, the 60th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) took place in Madrid, with thousands of healthcare professionals attending the annual event both in-person and online.
During the conference, research showed that once weekly insulin efsitora alfa leads to HbA1C reduction similar to daily basal insulin. According to findings presented at EASD 2024, semaglutide hydrogel could reduce diabetes shots to once a month.
New research results released in September revealed that individuals who received the once-a-day oral weight loss drug amycretin lost up to 13 per cent of their body weight over three months.
Research published in Nature Medicine in September found that a new type of blood test using lipids could make it easier to identify children at risk of complications around obesity including type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, a new study found that T cell therapy is associated with long-term remission in type 1 diabetes.
October saw the 14th annual QiC awards recognise initiatives that have improved the lives of people living with diabetes.
According to research published in October, greater glycaemic improvements were seen among people using the tubeless Omnipod® 5 AID system compared to those with type 1 diabetes on pump therapy with a continuous glucose monitor. In addition, a new study showed that stem cell injections functionally cured a woman with type 1 diabetes.
Updated GIRFT diabetes metrics on the Model Health System were released in October. Also that month, Insights for Diabetes Excellence, Access and Learning (iDEAL) Diabetes released a set of new practical recourses to help address some common gaps in diabetes care.
Hundreds of sites across the UK and Ireland took part in Hypo Awareness Week in October. Meanwhile, the Diabetes Specialist Nurse (DSN) Forum UK welcomed more than 200 delegates from across the UK to its national conference.
Later this month, CDEP launched a new topic on diabetes in the emergency department. Additionally, a study claimed that canagliflozin may improve haemoglobin levels.
In November, the National Advisory Panel on Care Home Guidance published a comprehensive guideline led by Professor Alan Sinclair to improve type 1 diabetes care in care homes.
A study published in November revealed that tirzepatide is effective for long-term weight loss and diabetes prevention in people with obesity and prediabetes. Also that month, Gro Health W8Buddy received funding from NIHR and OLS.
Earlier this month, the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists launched audits on the FreeStyle Libre and Dexcom CGM systems.
In addition, researchers at Leicester Diabetes Centre (LDC) successfully started using the glucose clamp technique in November.
Meanwhile, Effective Diabetes Education Now (EDEN) launched a new eLearning course to aid healthcare professionals to treat and manage early onset type 2 diabetes. And, a webinar on managing pregnancy with CamAPS FX took place in November.
In December, the ADA released its 2025 Standards of Care for diabetes. An educational video on AVP-deficiency was published.
Also, tirzepatide was approved by NICE in December. Additionally, the results of the National Diabetes Experience Survey were published.
Meanwhile, Northamptonshire MP Sarah Bool took part in the latest Big Interview.
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