Referral and eligibility

Getting referred for an insulin pump

Speak directly to your diabetes team about being referred to the insulin pump specialist clinic. The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists produced a useful Best Practice Guide which has lots of information on insulin pump therapy, as well as information on the uptake of insulin pump therapy across the UK.

Who is eligible? 

Eligibility guidelines for those who can get insulin pumps are produced by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (also known as NICE). These guidelines state that for adults if you continue to have an HbA1c greater than 69 mmol/mol (8.5%) despite optimum use of multiple daily injections or if you suffer from disabling hypoglycaemia you may be eligible for a pump.

Disabling hypoglycaemia is defined as the repeated and unpredictable occurrence of hypoglycaemia that results in persistent anxiety about recurrence and is associated with a significant adverse effect on the quality of life. Children under 12 years old are eligible when multiple daily injections are inappropriate or impractical.

Here are the health care professional assessment criteria as recommended by the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists’ recommended by:

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* SMBG= self monitoring of blood glucose

Your local diabetes team may have their own protocols and insulin pumps are becoming increasingly available to people with type 1 diabetes. You should ask your diabetes team to see who is eligible in your area.