From data to decisions: power, pitfalls and perspective
Guest blog by Angus Honeysett, Market Development Director at Tunstall and Chair of techUK Social Care Working Group
Angus Honeysett
Head of Global Market Insights, Tunstall
With over 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors, including 11 years specialising in technology-led social care, I specialise in market insights, public affairs, finance, service design, delivery and development. My career highlights include leading award-winning projects across the UK and Europe, demonstrating expertise in business growth, project management, change management and leading debates on social care reform. As Head of Global Market Insights at Tunstall, I am dedicated to leveraging technology to deliver preventative care across health, housing, and social care, with a strong focus on improving outcomes for citizens. My work includes service redesign, stakeholder engagement, and driving sustainable, impactful change. I bring a strategic perspective to reviewing, delivering, and developing client services, underpinned by my qualifications as a Chartered Accountant, together with an MSc in Business Management. My goal is to align innovative technology solutions with diverse stakeholder needs, delivering meaningful, lasting improvements in social care.
This case study is personal. It’s about me. I’m Angus, and I’ve been living with type 1 diabetes for 37 years.
Over the last six weeks, I’ve started using the Libre continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system. After decades of managing my diabetes in a more traditional way, this shift to something far more data-driven has been both eye-opening and, at times, really tough. I went into it expecting clarity, better control, and a more data-driven approach to my condition. What I didn’t fully expect was just how confronting, and at times overwhelming, that level of insight would be.
Before using Libre, I managed my diabetes using regular finger-prick tests and a lot of experience driven, educated guesswork. I had a general sense of patterns, but there were always gaps in my understanding and times when I simply didn’t know what my blood sugar was doing. The CGM has removed the gaps almost instantly. Suddenly, I could see my glucose levels in real time, along with trends, spikes, and drops that I previously would have missed entirely.
At first, and remember this only started six weeks ago, it felt empowering. I had more information than ever, and I believed that would quickly lead to better control. In reality, the first few weeks were some of the hardest I’ve experienced in a long time. The data didn’t just highlight the good and what was going well, it’s highlighted every fluctuation, every miscalculation, and every unpredictable response my body has to food, exercise, and insulin.
I’ve found myself dealing with high and low blood sugar, often in quick succession. Meals I thought I understood caused unexpected spikes I didn’t expect. Corrections sometimes led to overcorrections. Even routine activities turned out to be more unpredictable than I realised. It quickly became obvious that having more data doesn’t automatically mean knowing what to do with it and despite living with diabetes for 37 years, I’ve had to relearn parts of it all over again.
Emotionally, I’ve also found this period quite difficult. Seeing constant evidence that my levels weren’t where I wanted them has been frustrating. There’s a mental weight that comes with continuous visibility and you’re never really “off duty.” At times, it’s felt like I’m chasing the numbers rather than managing them and when my diabetic nurse said things might get worse before they got better, it wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but they were right
However, over the past couple of weeks, things have started to shift. Patterns that once seemed chaotic are beginning to make sense. I’ve learned how my body responds more precisely to different foods, timing of insulin, and activity levels. I’ve adjusted insulin doses based on readings instead of reacting to every data point, I’m starting to interpret trends and make more measured adjustments. My glucose levels are stabilising, with more time spent within target range and fewer highs and lows. The progress hasn’t been immediate, but it’s meaningful and sustainable.
The biggest lesson for me is that better control is not immediate, it’s iterative. The technology hasn’t magically solved my diabetes, but it has given me the tools to understand it more deeply. With that understanding comes the ability to make more informed decisions, even if it takes time to get them right. Now I’m seeing more stability. My glucose levels are spending longer within target range, and the highs and lows are becoming less frequent. It’s still not perfect, but it’s progress,and more importantly, it feels sustainable.
This experience has reinforced that managing type 1 diabetes is as much about learning and adaptating as it is about discipline. The technology is powerful, but it requires patience, resilience, and a willingness to engage with the data over time. It’s been hard work, but it’s starting to pay off, and that makes the journey worthwhile.
Beyond my personal experience, this journey highlights a broader opportunity. The combination of continuous data and intelligent interpretation has significant potential in supporting people to live independently at home for longer. With the right systems in place, CGM data can provide early insights, identify risks, and enable proactive interventions. It shifts care from being reactive to preventative, offering both improved outcomes and greater confidence for individuals and their support networks.
More broadly, the benefits of using technology like CGM are significant. It changes the game from reacting to problems to actively managing them with insight and confidence. Instead of relying on snapshots and guesswork, a continuous, living picture of what’s happening. That means earlier intervention, fewer surprises, and better long-term control. It doesn’t remove the effort of living with diabetes, but it makes that effort more effective.
Over time, that translates into fewer risks, greater stability, and a real sense of control. For me, and for many others, that shift is powerful, not just clinically, but in how you live your life day to day.
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Authors
Angus Honeysett
Market Development Director and Chair of techUK Social Care Working Group, Tunstall
