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Home > News & events > News > Vital NHS T1DE treatment pilot schemes set to end in April
NHS England is currently running five pilot schemes to treat people living with type 1 diabetes and disordered eating (T1DE). However, funding for four of them is due to run out in April 2026 – leaving vulnerable, high-risk people with nowhere to go. T1DE is extremely difficult to treat due to the complex relationships between insulin restriction, weight and eating disorder behaviours. Because of this, treatment must be delivered by a team with expertise in both eating disorders and diabetes.
Two pilot schemes to treat T1DE were commissioned in 2019, followed by a further five in 2022. Evaluations of the earlier schemes showed improved health outcomes for patients, halved the cost of inpatient admissions and reduced A&E costs by a third. In 2024, a Parliamentary Inquiry was led by former prime minister Theresa May and Sir George Howarth, supported by Breakthrough T1D. It strongly recommended continued funding for the sites. One of the early schemes has already closed due to lack of funding, and now four of the schemes commissioned in 2022 may face the same fate.
Type 1 and disordered eating, known as T1DE, is an eating disorder in a person with type 1 diabetes. This can be when someone restricts the amount of insulin they take on purpose to lose weight or stop gaining weight, known as insulin omission, or are experiencing another form of disordered eating alongside their type 1.
Lesley and Neal Davison’s daughter Megan, who had T1DE, died by suicide in 2017, expressing that she felt pushed to end her own life due to the lack of appropriate treatment available at the time. Since then, they’ve been campaigning for better treatment for T1DE patients to prevent future deaths.
Lesley said: “We know first-hand how important it is for people with T1DE to be able to receive the right treatment. When our daughter died, we were heartbroken. To learn she’d been so unwell and that nobody had been able to help her was devastating. Whilst nothing can ever bring Megan back, we’re determined to raise awareness of this awful condition and prevent future deaths. The best way to do that is to make sure people have access to services like the pilot schemes.”
Hilary Nathan, Director of Policy at Breakthrough T1D, said: “These pilots have shown what responsible, modern healthcare should look like. With the right expertise and early intervention, we can prevent crisis rather than simply react to it. Closing them would send a troubling message that even proven improvements can be withdrawn, despite clear evidence they are making a difference. People experiencing T1DE deserve consistency and long-term commitment. If we are serious about reducing preventable harm, this is the moment to build on what works – not take it away.”
Beat’s CEO, Vanessa Longley, said: “Beat hear every day from people who can’t get the right support with their eating disorder, and those with T1DE can find it even more challenging to get the right help. For them, these vital pilots offered transformative care, and with the right care people get better quicker and stay well longer, which is why it is so disappointing that the pilots are at risk of closure. Everyone deserves to get the right treatment, at the right time – we need to make this true for every person with T1DE, and every person with an eating disorder.”
Dr Anthony Winston, Medical Lead for Eating Disorders at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust, said: “NHS England took the bold step of establishing a network of pilot services to develop effective treatment for T1DE. These services have been shown to be effective in treating this complex and life-threatening condition. Regrettably, local commissioners have not been willing to fund these services on an ongoing basis and they therefore face the prospect of closure. People with T1DE will be unable to access the treatment they need and the NHS will lose the world-leading expertise that the pilot services have developed.”
If you or someone you know is living with type 1 diabetes and experiencing disordered eating, we have information, shared experiences and links to further support.
