Children and young people in Scotland with diabetes are to gain access to insulin pumps as part of a £1 million government drive to increase take-up of the devices.
Some 480 youngsters are set to benefit from the programme, while Scottish ministers have also unveiled plans to triple the number of pumps available to type-1 diabetes patients of all ages.
It follows a pledge by Scotland's health secretary Nicola Sturgeon, who told last year's October SNP conference that by 2013, a quarter of all type-1 diabetes sufferers under the age of 18 would have access to insulin pumps.
Speaking last week, Ms Sturgeon said: 'Not dealing effectively with diabetes can cause long term health problems and we need to make sure that the youngest people with type 1 diabetes get the best possible treatment as early as possible.'
A spokesman for the DoH in England said that NICE guidelines encouraged clinicians to prescribe insulin pumps where appropriate.
'It is a decision to be taken by the healthcare professional, the child with diabetes, and their parents. However, we do recognise that more needs to be done to increase the uptake of insulin pumps,' he added.