A six-month pilot project to provide diabetic children with free continuous glucose monitors is coming to an end, with parents anxious to know whether the project will be extended.
The project, which was first announced in 2018, began earlier this year and provides CGMs to all children and adolescents under the age of 16 who live with type 1 diabetes.
It ends in around eight weeks.
CGMs use sensors to provide patients with round-the-clock monitoring of blood glucose levels, allowing patients to control and analyse their diabetes – a long-term chronic condition – without having to regularly test their glucose levels using more invasive methods.
Device costs can run into the hundreds or even thousands of euros, with additional recurring expenses to buy sensors.
In a statement on Saturday, the Maltese Diabetes Association said it wanted the pilot project extended to all patients living with type 1 diabetes, irrespective of age.
“Persons living with diabetes in Malta should enjoy the same benefits as those in other EU countries,” its president Chris Delicata said.
“This should be seen as a long-term investment that would effectively result in better control and management of one's diabetes.”
Around 200 children live with type 1 diabetes in Malta. They have benefited from free CGM devices through the pilot project, and according to the association they had seen a “huge difference” in managing their children’s condition, thanks to the devices.
Besides improved diabetes control and blood glucose readings, the CGM has facilitated matters when their children were at school or following extra curriculum activities and have seen a drastic improvement in the blood glucose readings of their children,” the association said.
However, the pilot project’s end was now drawing near and parents did not know whether CGMs would be made available to them beyond the project date.
“Parents are anxious to know what is going to happen as they are aware that CGMs have impacted their children's lives so positively,” the association said, urging the government to provide clarity about what its plans are.