Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP)

24 Nov 2022

Updates

Thank you very much for your continued support and participation in the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.

NHS North East London ICB has been contracted by NHS England and Improvement to meet a target of 20,000 eligible patients taking part in the programme over 3 years, from December 2020 to November 2023. To support an increase in referrals into the programme the NEL Diabetes Team have started a one-off centralised referral project.

In the current wave of the programme, NEL practices have referred 10,203 patients with 3020 patients successfully starting the programme. To support an increase in referrals into the programme and an increase in patients taking up the programme, NEL diabetes transformation team have started a one-off centralised referral project in partnership with iPLATO. This initiative is based on learning from North Central London, where this approach increased referrals by 95% and programme starters tripled compared with 3 months before and after the project.

Continued and ongoing referrals are still required via general practice into the NHS DPP. This is a one-off, time-limited project. This project also requires practices to ‘opt-in’ by signing relevant data sharing agreements. If your practice does not wish to take part, please find more information in the FAQ document.

This extraordinary project aims to support referrals of patients with pre-diabetes/non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (test recorded within 12 months) or a history of gestational diabetes to the NDPP through a centralised text message/letter approach delivered by iPLATO. Patients coded for a long-term condition, on the SMI/LD register, under the age of 45 or from an ethnic background are being prioritised in this project. Only patients who have consented to receiving communications will be contacted. Once a data processing agreement has been signed by your practice and you have consented for your practice to take part in this project, the process of contacting and coding patients will be managed by iPLATO in its entirety.

To find more about this project please find the below information in the download section:

Letter to practices from clinical leads
FAQ document
Iplato Text/letter content for patients

Programme Overview

The Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) identifies those at high risk of Type 2 Diabetes and refers them onto a face-to-face behaviour change programme. The NHS DPP is a joint commitment from NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK. There are currently five providers across England that deliver this service. The provider for NDPP in NEL is Xyla Health & Wellbeing, Part of Acacium Group.

The programme runs over 9 months and consists of 4 stages; a 1:1 telephone initial assessment, fortnightly group sessions, monthly group sessions and an end of programme 1:1 review. All group sessions will resume face-to-face delivery from 1 April 2022.

As of October 2021, there are still more than 20,000 patients in North East London who are currently eligible for this programme (i.e. have been diagnosed with prediabetes/blood sugar within the non-diabetic hyperglycaemic range) who have not yet been referred. Research has shown the programme has provided promising weight loss outcomes, with an average loss of around 3-4kgs per participant that completes the programme.

Programme eligibility criteria has been expanded for the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme to include women with a past diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) and a normoglycaemic blood reading within the last 12 months.

Resumption to F2F services since 1 July except for Bangladeshi patients, history of GDM and those with a disability.

Eligibility Criteria

Your patient is eligible if they meet the following criteria

Aged over 18
Registered with a GP in City & Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Barking & Dagenham, Havering or Redbridge
HbA1c between 42-47 mmol/mol (6.0-6.4%) or Fasting Plasma Glucose between 5.5-6.9 mmol/molwithin the last 12 months
If patient has a history of Gestational Diabetes (GDM) then patient is eligible with HbA1c <42 mmol/mol or FPG <5.5mmol/l within the last 12 months
Able to take part in light/moderate physical activity

Exclusion Criteria:

Pregnant
Diagnosed as Diabetic (if a patient has been diagnosed within the last 6 years, they may be eligible for the Low Calorie Diet pilot)

How to refer?

The following clinicians can refer to this service: GPs, Nurses, Any HCPs can refer as long as they have a valid HbA1c for the patient (taken within previous 12 months).

To refer an individual to the Healthier You Programme, please ensure they meet the eligibility criteria then complete the referral form which is embedded into your clinical system and send it to:

NHS email: scwcsu.nel-ndpp@nhs.net

If you cannot find this referral form on your system, please ask your CEG facilitator or email us at nelondonicb.stpdiabetes@nhs.net.

Patients can also self-refer themselves onto the programme by taking a survey to assess their risk of Type 2 diabetes. If an individual receives a high-risk score, they have the option to refer themselves onto the programme without the need for a blood glucose result. This referral route is open indefinitely: https://riskscore.diabetes.org.uk/start, and primary care referrals are preferred.

Referral forms will be centrally updated shortly with additional fields to capture hearing and/or visual impairment. Referrers will also be required to clearly state, where applicable, a previous history of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) on the referral form (i.e. appropriate box ticked), regardless of whether current glycaemic status is normoglycaemic or non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (NDH). To confirm, referrals for women with normoglycaemia and a history of previous GDM must continue to state the positive history of gestational diabetes in order for the referral to be accepted. All women regardless of their HbA1c/FPG reading who have had a history of GDM are eligible for the programme (however, they must not be currently pregnant).

CPD-accredited Training

The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has developed an e-learning module on the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme for GPs, practice nurses and other practice staff. The free 30-minute module is CPD-accredited and covers:

what non-diabetic hyperglycaemia is
what the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme is
how it works
who is eligible

It can be accessed by creating a free account on the RCGP learning site.

Programme Provider

Xyla Health & Wellbeing, Part of Acacium Group

info@preventing-diabetes.co.uk

Resource Bank

Xyla Health & Wellbeing (the provider) Resources:

https://preventing-diabetes.co.uk/referrers/north-east-london/ - includes patient information in various languages
https://xylahealthandwellbeing.com/our-services/diabetes-prevention/
https://preventing-diabetes.co.uk/

Local Case Studies:

Other useful sources of information regarding the programme:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/diabetes/diabetes-prevention/
You can also find a variety of campaign resources here: https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/72-healthier-you/resources

CPD-accredited Training

what non-diabetic hyperglycaemia is
what the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme is
how it works
who is eligible

It can be accessed by creating a free account on the RCGP learning site.

Who can I contact for more information?

Please email any generic queries to: stpdiabetes@nhs.net
Please email any service specific or training queries to Julie Newland Newland@xylahealth.com.
GP information leaflet
Patient information leaflet
Referral Script for Primary Care
GP Presentation
NHS DPP Presentation Slides
Service User Feedback of the NDPP
NHS DPP informational recording
Healthier You Know Your Risk GP Screen Video
NDPP EMIS search location