CHILDREN are to be screened by ambulance paramedics for type 1 diabetes in the first study of its kind.

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) will be the first ambulance service in the country to carry out the screening, which will involve children aged between three and 13 being tested in GP practices, schools and community centres across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Hampshire.

The study will provide earlier support and treatment to those found to have the autoimmune disease.

It is part of a national research project – Early Surveillance for Autoimmune Diabetes (Elsa) – designed to assess children’s risk of developing type 1 diabetes at the earliest possible stage.

Those identified as high risk during the study and their families will be offered support and education to help prepare them for the diagnosis.

They will also be given the opportunity to be followed up in the long-term to enable closer monitoring and to potentially start insulin treatment sooner.

In addition, they will be given access to clinical trials of the newest treatments which could prevent or delay the condition.

Head of research operations at SCAS, Martina Brown, said: “We want to ensure this type 1 diabetes screening programme study is accessible to all and utilising research paramedics and nurses is key to making this happen.

“We are delighted to be the first ambulance trust to use our paramedics and nurses for such a landmark project and will be screening children in community settings including general practices, schools and community centres."

Martina praised the "fantastic" new study as screening for type 1 diabetes is not a standard practice in the NHS at present.

She said the study could form the basis for a national screening programme.

“The benefit is clear in terms of identifying those at risk earlier and teaching children and parents about recognising the acute symptoms and being prepared for emergencies.

“They will understand how to respond to these situations effectively as a result and will receive access to further clinical trials to tackle the disease, which include new treatments to prevent or delay the condition", Martina added.

Around 400,000 people in the UK – including about 29,000 children – are thought to have type 1 diabetes, a lifelong autoimmune condition.

It is caused by the immune system attacking cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin.

This prevents insulin being created and causes blood sugar levels to rise, potentially resulting in life-threatening complications.

Parth Narendran, professor of diabetes medicine at the University of Birmingham, said: “As general population screening programmes for type 1 diabetes emerge around the world, we need to explore how best to screen children here in the UK.

“We hope Elsa will lead to the rollout of a type 1 diabetes early detection programme for children in the UK and encourage families with children at a suitable age to consider taking part.”