The Midlands Type 1 Diabetes Network

The Midlands Type 1 Diabetes Network is a learning and delivery forum for the provision of Type 1 Diabetes care. The network enables a regional approach to the sharing of information in relation to Type 1 Diabetes care across Integrated Care System (ICS) footprints. The network supports commissioning and provider colleagues, clinical and managerial; to have discussions on best practice and key challenges in the delivery of Type 1 Diabetes services. It will provide an interface between the ICS Commissioning Leads, Secondary Care Consultants and Nurses, Midlands Cardiovascular Disease and Respiratory Clinical Network and NHS England & NHS Improvement.

 The Network’s key aims are:

•           To improve and reduce unwarranted variation in the quality, safety, consistency, access, and equity of diabetes services and care resulting in improved outcomes for patients with Type 1 Diabetes throughout the Midlands.

•     To support and advise on clinical pathways and service specifications for Type 1 Diabetes spanning across organisations and systems.

•     To encourage collaboration, participation, joint understanding and a holistic view of Type 1 Diabetes provision across the Midlands.

•     To ensure priorities for the network are directly aligned to supporting delivery of the national diabetes programme.

•     To review national and local data to understand achievement rates against key performance indicators and areas of variation.

Midlands Excellence: Researchers & Clinicians Interested in Alpha1-Antitrypsin Deficiency (MERCIa) Network

Epidemiological studies confirm that a1-antitrypsin deficiency (A1ATD) is relatively common for a ‘rare disease’ in the UK population.  The incidence of people in whom both copies of the gene encoding a1-antitrypsin carry a disease mutation (homozygotes) is 20-30 per 100,000, although the detection rate is only ~5%.

It is an area of active Pharma interest, with multiple therapeutic approaches in clinical studies.  There are increasing efforts to systematise the finding and registration of cases, and to define best practice. 

A Midlands regional network approach can yield important insights in the short- to medium-term.  We have world-leading research and clinical expertise in the specific condition itself and the more common diseases of which it is a genetic cause.  These are predominantly COPD and chronic liver disease.  However it is also associated with inflammation centred on blood vessels around the body (A1ATD represents the greatest genetic risk factor for ANCA-associated vasculitis) and in the subcutaneous tissue (panniculitis). 

Opportunities for new insights into both A1ATD-related and non-A1ATD-related forms of these diseases can therefore come from a collaborative network which involves those with existing interests from each perspective.  We cover the full research spectrum from basic to translational to clinical science, and we have a strong track record integrating this with strengths in multi-disciplinary service development to optimise patient care.