Harrogate healthcare firm partners on launch of new service for people living with type two diabetes

Spire Diabetes Care is being piloted at the London Doctors Clinic in London and is initially available to 500 patients. It is believed to be the first comprehensive service of its kind in the UK.

Bryn Sage, chief executive of Inhealthcare, said: “We are delighted to be working with Spire Healthcare to support people living with type 2 diabetes and empower them to make positive, proactive lifestyle changes that help to keep their condition under control.

“An estimated 15 million people in the UK are suffering from chronic conditions including diabetes, COPD, heart disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. We believe this model of care can be scaled up to support people living with other conditions and relieve pressure on NHS services.”

According to new figures from charity Diabetes UK, the number of people living with diabetes has topped five million for the first time. Around 90 per cent of diagnoses are type 2.

For a monthly fee of £9.95, patients will begin with a face-to-face consultation with a diabetes support nurse in London so they can discuss their condition. The nurse will then review the patient’s medical history, gather baseline readings and give the patient equipment to monitor blood pressure and weight at home.

After the initial consultation, patients record their readings and mental wellbeing every month via a smartphone app, and receive monthly personalised emails from their nurse to assess their body weight and blood pressure and progress towards their goals, as well as bi-monthly face-to-face or virtual meetings with their nurse. Any significant changes to health status or medication changes are communicated to the patient's NHS GP.

Inhealthcare is providing the remote monitoring technology that enables communications between patients and healthcare providers via a choice of channels including an app for iOS and Android smartphones and SMS text message. As part of the service, healthcare professionals are able to review the patient information, engage with patients via messaging and behavioural change content and receive alerts about patients who need intervention.

Jo Youster, head of product management at Spire Healthcare, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Inhealthcare to help us develop new services to support the management of long-term health conditions.

“By using technology alongside one-to-one consultations, we believe Spire Diabetes Care has the potential to deliver a new, high quality and accessible form of healthcare for people with type 2 diabetes. I look forward to receiving the results of the pilot in 2024.”

Earlier this year in May, Inhealthcare announced that it had teamed up with NHS Scotland to develop remote monitoring pathways for patients.