Hybrid closed loop technology

Hybrid closed loop (HCL) systems link continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) with insulin pump technology to monitor blood glucose and automatically adjust the amount of insulin given through a pump to people living with type 1 diabetes.

HCL can eliminate finger-prick tests and prevent life-threatening hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemia attacks, which can lead to seizures, coma or even death for people living with type 1 diabetes.

Following a successful pilot by NHS England, in December 2023 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended that HCL technology should be rolled-out in a phased implementation, over the next 5 years, to thousands of patients including:

  • adults living with type 1 diabetes who have an HbA1c of 58 mmol/mol (7.5%) or higher, or have disabling hypoglycaemia despite best possible management with at least one of the following:
    • continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII)
    • real-time CGM
    • intermittently scanned CGM
  • children and young people (under 18 years old) living with type 1 diabetes
  • women, trans men and non-binary people living with type 1 diabetes who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.

The first phase of the roll-out to NHS integrated care systems will begin from April 2024.  All patients who are eligible should continue to attend appointments as normal and discuss options with their diabetes team.

For further information, please contact england.digitaldiabetes@nhs.net