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Written question asked by Lord Kamall (Conservative) on Monday, 23 March 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 8 April 2026. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 April 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Psychiatric Patients: Insulin

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the report by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body Insulin: supporting safe self-administration for patients in the community with a mental health problem, published on 26 February, what steps they plan to take to ensure that vulnerable patients are appropriately supported to administer insulin safely after discharge from hospital.

Answer

NHS England is considering the Health Services Safety Investigations Body’s report and will respond to the recommendation in the report in due course.

To reduce insulin related harm, the NHS Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme published guidance in April 2025 to support trusts to establish Diabetes Safety Boards. GIRFT is also undertaking a pilot across 20 integrated care systems as part of a Community and District Nurse Insulin Programme, which works to empower community diabetes nurses and district nursing teams to support patients at home requiring insulin administration.

To further support services to provide high quality personalised care for all patients needing secondary mental health services, including those with diabetes, NHS England has shared new draft guidance with systems, the Mental Health Personalised Care Framework, sets out how services must effectively assess, plan, and manage people's care in collaboration with all relevant teams, including how they assess safety and risks of harm.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL15856
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Psychiatric patients Insulin Safety
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk