A national strategy designed to meet the needs of the country
The need for a national diabetes strategy is clear. National Diabetes Plans provide a coordinated framework to guide diabetes prevention, treatment and long-term care, helping countries set priorities, improve the organisation of services and respond to the evolving needs of people living with diabetes (PwD). As highlighted in IDF Europe’s publication, An Overview of Access to Diabetes Care in Europe, approximately one-third of European countries still lack a national diabetes plan, presenting a significant opportunity to strengthen diabetes policy across the region.
Against this broader European context, the need for a national diabetes strategy in Ireland is clear. Around 1 in 18 people in Ireland are living with diabetes, with this number expected to continue rising in the coming years. Diabetes places a significant burden on individuals, families and the healthcare system, while inequalities in access to care and variations in service provision continue to present challenges.
Against this backdrop, Ireland has taken an important step in its ongoing efforts to strengthen diabetes care with the publication of Ireland’s first national diabetes strategy, Diabetes Policy and Services Review: A Strategy for Better Care. The strategy builds on Ireland’s ongoing efforts to improve diabetes services. It recognises the strengths of existing diabetes care while identifying current gaps and opportunities to further strengthen prevention, treatment and long-term support through an integrated national approach.
Developing Ireland’s first national diabetes strategy
It took many years and multiple meetings with politicians, involvement of the cross-party Parliamentary Group on Diabetes, and the support from the Department of Health to successfully advocate for the development of the strategy. As a member of the Steering Group and a key stakeholder throughout the process, Diabetes Ireland collaborated with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE) to help ensure that the experiences and priorities of PwD informed the strategy’s recommendations and future direction. The strategy document, which was initially entitled, the Diabetes Policy and Services Review, was developed through extensive consultation with the Review Stakeholder group consisting of healthcare professionals (HCPs), healthcare professional organisations, researchers, policymakers and organisations representing people living with diabetes, including Diabetes Ireland, and individual patient representatives.
A framework to strengthen diabetes care
Ireland’s first national diabetes strategy provides a strategic framework to guide future improvements in diabetes policy and services, recognising that the needs of PwD continue to evolve and that collaborative action is needed to deliver equitable, person-centred care.
The strategy sets out a national approach to diabetes care, bringing together services across acute, primary and community settings to better support people living with all types of diabetes across the life course. It aims to strengthen integrated multidisciplinary and person-centred care, ensuring that PwD can access support across different healthcare settings and throughout the care pathway, while recognising that their needs may evolve at different stages of life.
It details a series of recommendations organised around four key priority areas: service development, affordability and access to care, better support for PwD and digital healthcare. Together, these aim to strengthen the organisation and delivery of diabetes services, improve equitable access to diabetes technologies and specialist care, enhance support throughout the life course and accelerate the use of digital solutions, including the development of a National Diabetes Registry.
From policy to implementation
Attention now turns to implementation. Success will depend on continued collaboration between people living with diabetes, healthcare professionals, policymakers and other key stakeholders to translate the strategy’s recommendations into meaningful improvements in care. It will also require sustained and adequate investment across the health system, including to address staffing gaps, strengthen services and infrastructure and support the delivery of the strategy’s wider recommendations.
IDF Europe welcomes Ireland’s first National Diabetes Strategy and encourages other European countries to develop and implement comprehensive National Diabetes Plans tailored to their national context. These plans should be developed in partnership with PwD, their representative organisations and HCPs, and include action across screening, prevention, treatment and care.