A new HIEM programme is being rolled out across the East Midlands to implement Hybrid Closed Loop (HCL) technology for people with Type 1 diabetes.

Hybrid Closed Loop technology represents a significant advancement in care by combining continuous glucose monitoring with automated insulin delivery. This approach supports improved glycaemic control and can reduce the day-to-day burden of self-managing type 1 diabetes.

The challenge:

• Over 200,000 adults in England are living with Type 1 diabetes, with thousands more children and young people requiring lifelong specialist care.
• Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition requiring intensive daily management, with significant risk of serious complications and hospital admissions if not well controlled.

The solution:

• Evidence from NHS pilot sites indicates that Hybrid Closed Loop technology leads to improvements in glucose outcomes and improved quality of life for people living with type 1 diabetes.
• There is a significant opportunity to use HCL as a catalyst to transform outpatient care towards more digital, proactive and preventative models.

Impacts and benefits

The programme offers potential benefits:

To patients:

• Improved access to HCL technology and more equitable care across the East Midlands.
• Better outcomes, quality of life and self‑management.

To workforce:

• More efficient outpatient models supported by digital pathways and HCL‑enabled care.
• Stronger workforce, capacity and financial planning to support sustainable service delivery.

To systems:

• Accelerated adoption and reduced variation across delivery.
• More sustainable, preventative and digitally enabled care with reduced hospital dependency.

HIEM programme

Building on the NHS England HCL programme, we are working in partnership with NHS England Midlands, ICBs and Trusts to provide tailored implementation support at scale.

HIEM will:

• Provide coordinated programme and implementation support to enable HCL rollout across systems
• Support system engagement, planning and alignment with national requirements
• Work with partners to redesign outpatient pathways and embed HCL into routine care
• Enable sustainable delivery through workforce, capacity and financial modelling
• Facilitate shared learning and connect systems to national tools, guidance and best practice

Get involved

Contact us:

• To help us shape local HCL delivery and share learning across the region.
• For support to develop delivery plans, business cases and workforce models.

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The programme is being delivered across the 15 health innovation networks – find out more and download resources on the national programme webpage.