Will the April 2019 new meter make a big difference?

[Johnny66]

Apparently the UK Govt were intending to ensure that everyone in the UK (not just the postcode lottery) will have access to the new meter from April this year, which takes swipe readings? I hope I have my info correct?

This will really help me, being a bus driver. Finger pricking readings will still be also necessary (and only they will be trusted by the DVSA) as they are more accurate, apparently. But what an advancement for driver-diabetics!

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I hope I have my info correct?

Unless they've changed the plan, you've got it wrong. (Though I'm sure that's what they want the public to think.) Rather, they want uniform guidelines for prescribing things like the Freestyle Libre across the country. The estimates are that 20-25% of people with Type-1 are expected to qualify.

The funding they've found down the back of the sofa pretty much matches that. It does not match everyone (or even everyone that wanted it, probably) getting it.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I should also have noted that (at least currently) DVLA doesn't accept readings from flash glucose monitors, so drivers will have to continue to perform blood tests when those are required. (Obviously, something like the Libre might well still be of value. And the Freestyle Libre Reader can also act as a regular glucometer (though with higher than average test strip prices).)

 

[Johnny66]

Thanks, Bruce, I heard of this third-hand, so my knowledge isn't spot on.

I hope the bloody DVSA will play ball eventually, making life so much easier for us type 1's on the road.

 

[Bronco Billy]

Funding for the libre is being increased in April so that it can be made more widely available. However, like every pot of money, it isn’t bottomless and there will still be criteria to meet. I fear there is a lot of excitement that will lead to disappointment. Expectations need to be managed as not everyone who wants one will get one.