NHS trusts in Cumbria and the North East of England are the first to give patients access to the Diabetes Health Check app, with a nationwide rollout planned for later this year.<\/p>\n
The Government said it is a \u201cpotential game-changer\u201d in the fight against diabetes<\/a>, and its creators, Cambridge-based company PocDoc, said it could save the NHS billions. <\/a><\/p>\n New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n Around 5.2 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and a further 1.3 million are undiagnosed, putting a significant financial strain on the healthcare system. <\/p>\n Around \u00a39bn is spent on treating complications arising from diabetes, such as heart disease, kidney problems, and nerve damage. Studies suggest that the annual cost of the disease could increase to \u00a316.9 bn in the next 25 years.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEnabling screening for type 2 diabetes risk including blood biomarkers via a smartphone app is something that has never been done before,\u201d said PocDoc chief executive Steve Roest.<\/p>\n The HbA1c finger prick blood test is the gold standard because it measures average blood glucose levels over the past two to three months, providing a more comprehensive view than daily blood sugar tests.<\/p>\n Roest said the app aligns directly with the aims of Health Secretary Wes Streeting\u2019s 10-year plan for the NHS<\/a> \u2013 enabling earlier detection and prevention, delivering more personalised care pathways, and moving testing and diagnosis into community and home settings.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an enormous gap in screening people for preventable diseases,\u201d he said. \u201cThe current system \u2013 not just in the UK, but globally \u2013 cannot find, risk assess, and diagnose enough people to make any dent in the fight against things like heart attacks, strokes, and type 2 diabetes.\u201d<\/p>\n Health minister Stephen Kinnock told The i Paper that the app rollout was important because type 2 diabetes is on the rise across England.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a potential game-changer and exactly the type of technology we want to see in the NHS as part of the 10 Year Health Plan <\/a>\u2013 bringing our health service firmly into the 21st century and care directly into people\u2019s homes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will make using the NHS as simple and convenient as online banking or shopping, while helping companies bring new technology into the health service more quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n The seed of the device was planted 30 years ago when Roest was a teenager and witnessed his father having a catastrophic stroke in his early forties, due to undiagnosed cardiovascular disease (CVD).<\/p>\n \u201cUsing smartphones to deliver diagnostics is exactly what could have saved my dad from having so many [health] problems. He\u2019s cost the NHS a fortune,\u201d Roest said.<\/p>\n The app\u2019s launch comes 24 hours after the Government announced the biggest shake-up of diabetes care in a decade<\/a>. Around 750,000 patients with CVD or early-onset diabetes would benefit from weight-loss drugs such as liraglutide or semaglutide <\/a>sooner, rather than keeping them for the later stages of treatment, new guidance states.<\/p>\n Pilot under way in North East <\/p>\n A pilot of the Diabetes Health Check is under way in the North East of England and North Cumbria as part of a testing project commissioned by the Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria (HI NENC).<\/p>\n Roest credits NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, who was previously in charge of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, for bringing advanced health tech to the North East.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s created this innovation hotbed in the region and they have been trialling the diabetes check,\u201d Roest said. \u201cMore hospitals are using it and excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n NHS trusts that have bought the technology will focus on going into communities, including religious centres, and workplaces to deliver the test before a take-home version is rolled out across the NHS later in the year.<\/p>\n![\"Diabetes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_262743665.jpg\")
\u2018Enabling screening for type 2 diabetes risk including blood biomarkers via a smartphone app is something that has never been done before,\u2019 said PocDoc chief executive Steve Roest<\/p>\n