The GNL Podcast
Episode 21 — Partha Kar’s SPARK: Transforming Diabetes Care
How the NHS scaled CGM and hybrid closed-loop from research to reality — and the Five-to-Drive-Change mindset behind it.
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In this episode
Professor Partha Kar joins The Glucose Never Lies® Podcast to unpack how the UK moved from research to reality in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and hybrid closed-loop systems (AID) — and how the same approach can be applied to any challenge in life or leadership.
Through openness, accountability, and courage, Partha helped create one of the fastest national technology adoptions in healthcare history. At the centre of that journey sits a practical philosophy anyone can use: the S-P-A-R-K Mindset — his Five-to-Drive-Change Framework.
Episode highlights
- How Partha Kar and the NHS scaled CGM and hybrid closed-loop systems
- Using social media as a listening and accountability engine
- Creating culture change through transparent data
- Tackling health inequalities — what paediatrics got right
- The power of implementation science over theory
- Language Matters — why words drive behaviour
- Leadership as action and ownership, not charisma
The S-P-A-R-K Mindset — Five-to-Drive-Change Framework
S – Start small, prove it locally
Change begins in your patch. Pilot, test, measure. Evidence beats opinion.
P – Put your skin in the game
If you believe in it, stand behind it. Take the risk, own the outcome.
A – Accountability, not blame
Use data to shine a light — RAG ratings, heat maps — but keep language neutral. Data should nudge, not shame.
R – Reveal through listening
True leadership starts with the community. Listen first; understand before you act.
K – Keep language human
Words shape behaviour. Talk with people, not at them. Better language builds safer systems.
Download Partha’s Five-to-Drive-Change framework and explore how to apply it in your own work and life.
Chapters
- 00:00 The CGM Journey: From Science to Street
- 04:15 Harnessing Social Media for Change
- 09:19 Accountability Without Blame
- 14:29 Implementation Science in Action
- 19:59 The Future of Diabetes Care
- 20:54 Seeing Bias in the Data
- 23:41 Paediatric Equality — Closing the Gap
- 25:10 Peer Learning from Sweden
- 28:00 Physician Associates — Safety and Scope
- 31:45 Patient Safety and Accuracy in Tech
- 35:35 Skin in the Game — Leadership With Consequences
- 37:57 SPARK Recap — Five-to-Drive Framework
Connect with Partha Kar
Partha is active across social media and engages openly with the diabetes community.
Key links and resources
- CGM accuracy explainer — 70% time in range is not equal across CGM systems and CGM Regulation Podcast series
- CGM selection and understanding explainer and CGM Podcast series
- Hybrid closed-loop (AID) overview and AID Podcast series
- Language Matters in Diabetes — NHS England
- National Paediatric Diabetes Audit (NPDA)
- GIRFT Diabetes Programme
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This content is for educational exploration only. It describes average responses and general principles. It is not medical advice and cannot replace individual clinical guidance from your diabetes care team.