NHS appoints Changing Health to develop Type 2 diabetes programme

Behavioural change platform Changing Health has been appointed by NHS England to develop Healthy Living – a personalised NHS programme for people living with Type 2 diabetes in the UK.

A condition which currently costs the NHS £9 billion per year - around 10% of the total health budget - this will be the first national rollout of its kind.

With figures showing there are 22,000 avoidable deaths each year due to Type 2 diabetes, the new NHS support provides users with the skills and knowledge to manage their condition effectively, including advice on emotional and mental wellbeing, and helps users adopt and maintain healthy behaviours around diet and exercise.

From later this year, users will be able access the digital platform at any time they need to via a phone or laptop and with no need to see a healthcare professional in person, reducing waiting times for patients and easing the strain on the NHS.

This comes at a time when supporting people living with diabetes to live healthier lives has never been more important. Better management of the condition has been shown to result in reduced risk of mortality from COVID-19. Users of other Changing Health interventions for Type 2 diabetes management and prevention, separately from the NHS Healthy Living programme, accessed those health interventions 80% more often in the first 10 weeks of lockdown than in the 10 weeks previously (n=2,923). 

Professor Mike Trenell, founder & CEO of Changing Health, said: “For many of the UK’s 3.4 million people living with Type 2 diabetes, COVID-19 has resulted in changes to diet, sleep, stress and physical activity. It’s now more important than ever that the NHS can deliver effective, accessible support for these people to make positive lifestyle changes. 

“Our partnership with NHS England will enable clinically validated digital support, at scale, across broad groups of society and quickly. When nationally available, the programme will be available for everyone with an internet connection and living with Type 2 diabetes in the UK, making this programme the largest rollout of its kind in the world. The NHS is taking self-care very seriously at a time when most of us will be building habits as part of the new normal of life after lockdown.”