Insulin Pumps Available in Ireland

This page was last updated in June 2023.

In Ireland, HSE-approved Insulin pumps are available through the HSE and covered free of charge. However, there are eligibility criteria you have to meet, and you must attend a diabetes clinic capable of initiating insulin pump training. Find out more about “Getting an Insulin Pump in Ireland” here. 

The Irish health service: the HSE invites insulin pump manufacturers to submit tender applications to offer selected companies a contract to supply insulin pumps to people with diabetes, but this is not done regularly. There are three insulin pumps available in Ireland that are HSE-approved. 

The Insulin Pumps available in Ireland are Medtronic’s Minimed 780G and 640G pumps, the Tandem T:Slim X2™ Insulin Pump with Control-IQ™ Technology, the YpsoPump with MyLife Loop and MyLife Dose by Ypsomed, and currently being phased out Roche Accu-Chek Combo insulin pump. The first three pumps are hybrid closed-loop pumps, which means they come with CGM systems. 

A Hybrid Closed Loop System uses a CGM to send glucose information directly to the insulin pump. A computer algorithm “reads the blood sugar info and works out how much insulin is needed. The algorithm can be part of an app on a separate device like a mobile phone or may be part of the insulin pump itself”, and an insulin pump automatically reduces or increases insulin delivery to keep you in range.

There is an excellent explanation of the Hybrid Closed Loop System on Diabetes UK’s website here. The Diabetes Specialist Nurse Forum UK website has a fantastic Hybrid Closed Loop (HCL) Systems Comparison Chart, which is really helpful in determining which is the right pump for you. The Diabetes Technology Network UK group also has a great video explaining the difference between the pump choices available.

Insulin Pumps not available in Ireland: Omnipod, Medtronic Minimed 670G, and the Medtrum Nano Patch Pump.

 

Insulin Pumps Available in Ireland

There are currently three pumps available in Ireland; The Medtronic 780G, the Tandem TSlim with Control IQ and the YspoPump My Loop. The Roche AccuChek Combo is still available but is being phased out. 


Medtronic MiniMed™ 780G 

Medtronic MiniMed 780G

The Medtronic 780G insulin pump is an advanced hybrid closed-loop system. The 780G became available in December 2021. This year the Guardian G4 sensor became available, improving the pump's performance significantly. 

Automatically adjusts insulin delivery to correct highs and potential lows every 5 minutes, as needed using the Guardian G4 or G3 CGM. The Minimed 780G system can carry out up to 12 correction boluses per hour and decide the basal rate automatically (Bassi, et al., 2022). It has built-in Bluetooth for data-sharing and remote monitoring. The Guardian 4 CGM doesn’t require calibration.

There are some great resources available if you would like to learn more about the key features of the 780G, including this video from the UK Diabetes Technology Network and from Medtronic’s Irish webpage, which includes the technical specifications as well as a Frequently Asked Questions section here. 

Reviews from people living with diabetes;


Learn more about the Medtronic 780G from Medtronic’s webpage here.

Tandem TSlim Insulin Pump with Control-IQ™

The TSlim X2™ Insulin Pump Control-IQ™  works with the Dexcom G6 CGM (currently, but this will change once they integrate the G7 system). The Control-IQ™ Technology is an advanced hybrid closed-loop technology designed to help increase time in range, as measured by CGM, by predicting and helping reduce both highs and lows. “The Tandem system can deliver a maximum of one correction bolus per hour and modifies the basal profile based on a 30-minute prediction horizon of glucose levels (Bassi, et al., 2022). 

The company responsible for distributing the Tandem Insulin Pump in the UK and Ireland is French company Air Liquide, who can be contacted here through their Making Diabetes Easier website. 

Reviews from people living with diabetes;

Learn more about the Tandem TSlim Insulin Pump from Air Liquide’s webpage here. 

YpsoPump MyLife Loop with CamAPS

Update June 2023: YpsoPump myLife Loop with CamAPS is available now in Ireland.

The YpsoPump has a compact design and a hybrid closed loop using the Dexcom G6 CGM system. YpsoPump announced a partnership with CamAPS (the Advanced Hybrid Closed Loop system algorithm) in March 2022 and launched MyLife Loop with CamAPS in June 2022 in the UK. It’s now available in Ireland from June 2023.

Reviews from people living with diabetes;

Learn more about the YpsoPump MyLife Loop here.

Older Pumps

Roche Accu-Chek Combo (phasing out)

The Accu-Chek Combo insulin pump is the oldest pump available in Ireland and is called the Combo System because the system combines an insulin pump with a smart handset that is both a blood test meter and a bolus calculator. This pump is not integrated with any CGMs or even the Freestyle Libre, so it only delivers the insulin that it is pre-programmed to deliver. 

It gained popularity here in Ireland in 2019 when there was more interest from people with diabetes setting up their own Do-it-yourself Closed Loop Systems. 

I could not find reviews of the Accu-Chek Combo from PWDs, and Roche is no longer supporting people with diabetes for this product.

Medtronic MiniMed 640G

The Medtronic MiniMed 640G is the predecessor to the 780G in Ireland; The 670G version never made it to Ireland. This pump is a sensor-augmented pump (SAP), meaning the Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) capability is combined into the pump system. Still, it can be used as a pump only or as a pump/CGM combo. However, the 640G only predicts and prevents low blood glucose events and not highs. 

There is also this video walking people through the pump's features on the Diabetes Technology Network in the UK. There is also a review of the 640G on Diabetes.co.uk’s website.

Reviews from people living with diabetes;