Residents suffering from type 1 diabetes will have better access to “life-changing” monitors despite East Berkshire's NHS body claiming there was uncertainty about the demand for the provision just months ago.

Flash glucose monitors will be made available to type 1 diabetes patients from April 2019 following a roll-out sponsored by NHS England, putting an end to a so-called “postcode lottery”.

This comes after East Berkshire CCG (EBCCG) “declined” to fund the technology in April 2018 after it expressed concerns over the “cost-effectiveness” of the product, meaning diabetes patients in Bracknell, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead did not have access to the provision on the NHS.

At a meeting on Monday, February 4, members of the council’s healthcare panel quizzed EBCCG representative Catriona Khetyar on why the technology wasn’t rolled out in East Berkshire prior to NHS England’s announcement

Councillor Malcolm Tullett asked: “Why has Bracknell not implemented this?”

Catriona Khetyar replied: “The data isn’t available to measure how cost-effective it is at the moment.”

She later added: “We want to make sure that all patients have access and that nobody should not receive it because of something that was not there before.

“We are putting plans in place to make sure it is ready.”

The nationwide rollout came after pressure from campaigners Diabetes UK, who claimed the announcement meant the “end to the flash glucose monitoring postcode lottery” as the sensors will become available to those who meet the criteria on prescription “no matter where they live”.

The technology works via a small sensor that patients wear on their skin which records sugar levels throughout the day, with records available to access by scanning the sensor whenever the patient wishes to.

Patients will have to swap sensors around every two weeks, but the technology does mean they will not have to do as many finger prick check-ups.

According to Diabetes UK, the technology “can give you more confidence in managing your diabetes as you have more data to base decisions on.”

Councillor John Harrison said: “This is pretty good news and we have been thinking along the lines that we would like this to be provided.”