LIFE-CHANGING diabetes technology for thousands of Scots could be left to stall unless the Scottish Government maintains national direction and funding, senior doctors have warned.
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) has raised the alarm after learning ministers now expect cash-strapped Health Boards to pick up the bill for rolling out hybrid closed-loop systems (CLS), without any increase in central funding to back it up.
Closed-loop technology, which links an insulin pump with a continuous glucose monitor to automatically adjust insulin levels, is regarded as transformative for people living with Type 1 diabetes.
It can significantly reduce the risk of serious complications including kidney failure, sight loss and life-threatening blood sugar crises.
© Malcolm Cochrane Photography
But only around one in four of the estimated 35,000 adults with Type 1 diabetes in Scotland currently receive any form of advanced diabetes technology, and many are already waiting several years to access it.
In NHS Lothian alone, more than 1,200 patients were on the waiting list for an insulin pump as of early last year.
The RCPE has acknowledged the Scottish Government’s investment in around £8.8 million over the past two years to widen access, covering closed-loop systems for all children with Type 1 diabetes and increasing provision for adults.
However, the college now understands the government’s position is that further expansion should be absorbed by Health Boards operating under existing budgets.
Those same boards face some of the most severe financial pressures in a generation.
Professor Mark Strachan, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and diabetes consultant said: “We know that technologies like insulin pumps and closed-loop systems are not just innovative – they are life-changing.
“They help people live safer, healthier lives and reduce the risk of serious long-term complications such as kidney failure and blindness.
“The investment made by the Scottish Government in recent years has been very welcome and has made an enormous difference.
“But with approximately only a quarter of people currently able to access these technologies, we cannot afford for progress to stall.
“If national funding is no longer expanding, then we urgently need clear targets and timelines so that Health Boards can deliver equitable access. Without that, variation will grow and too many people will be left behind.”
Without continued national investment, the RCPE says waiting lists are likely to grow and the already significant variation in access between different parts of Scotland is likely to worsen.
The RCPE’s call forms part of a wider push by the college for a public debate about the future of NHS funding in Scotland, and for politicians to be transparent about the scale of the challenges the health service faces.
Ross Chalmers is a journalist focusing on local Edinburgh news, transport, the environment, the arts, and housing.
He graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with a degree in journalism in Summer 2025 and began working at Deadline News as a reporter in August.
