Kidney charities deliver open letter to No.10 calling for urgent action to tackle kidney disease
Patients and charities have joined forces to demand the government takes action on the escalating threat from kidney disease, delivering an open letter directly to Downing Street.
Patients representing five major UK kidney charities yesterday delivered an open letter to the Prime Minister, calling for urgent government action to address the growing crisis in kidney disease, a condition that already affects around 10% of the UK population.
Representatives from Kidney Research UK, the UK Kidney Association, Kidney Care UK, the PKD charity, and the National Kidney Federation handed in the open letter to the Prime Minister signed by over 10,000 petitioners calling for a national kidney disease strategy to improve early detection, prevention measures and fair access to treatment.
The letter, signed by kidney patients, clinicians and supporters across the UK, warns that kidney disease now affects more than seven million people, yet remains overlooked in national planning. Without a national strategy to tackle kidney disease across the UK it will continue to have a devastating impact on patients, families and the NHS.
Real life experiences of kidney disease
Among those taking part were Miranda Scanlon, Zahra,, Thomas Haynes and Asif Zaman. Each has lived through the realities of kidney disease and joined the charities in calling for urgent government action.
Miranda Scanlon, who has lived with polycystic kidney and liver disease for more than 30 years, joined the call for the Prime Minister to commit to a national kidney strategy to improve early detection, prevention and fair access to treatment.
Miranda discovered she had inherited polycystic kidney disease (PKD) at 18 and has since seen three generations of her family affected by the disease. Her condition worsened through her 30s until she received a kidney transplant in 2006 and has since been through further surgery to have her polycystic kidneys removed. Despite these challenges, Miranda has achieved a doctorate in genetics and undertaken a career spanning health research, patient involvement and education. For the last five years she has led Kidney Research UK’s lay advisory work, ensuring people with kidney disease help shape future research and innovation.
Miranda said: “The needs of millions of people living with kidney disease have been ignored for too long. We need this new strategy to drive improvements in diagnosis, treatment and research, and patients who live with this condition day in, day out should be at the centre of this change. It is so powerful to see how the whole kidney community has now come together to call for a national strategy to remedy this. It shows how united our community is in calling for change – and I hope there is so much more we can achieve when we act with one voice.”
Urgent action is needed
Around 30,000 people in the UK currently rely on dialysis treatment to stay alive, with numbers projected to reach 143,000 by 2033. Dialysis costs the NHS over £34,000 per patient each year, totalling several billion pounds annually across the UK. Almost 7,000 people in the UK are waiting for a kidney transplant according to the latest figures from NHS Blood and Transplant, an 11% rise in a single year, with six people dying every week whilst waiting.
The charities warn that while early detection and intervention can delay or prevent kidney failure in many cases, services remain inconsistent and under-resourced. New medications exist to slow disease progression, yet too few people are diagnosed early enough to benefit.
Dr Katie Vinen, consultant nephrologist at King’s College Hospital and President of the UK Kidney Association, said: “As the professional voice of the UK’s kidney healthcare community, we see first-hand the pressures on kidney services and the consequences of continued under-prioritisation. Kidney disease is a growing health challenge that intersects with many other long-term conditions, yet it remains largely absent from national strategic planning. We have repeatedly called for a clear national approach to support consistent, high-quality care. This letter reflects the strength of feeling across the kidney community: change is urgently needed, and our members stand ready to help deliver it.”
The charities point to the World Health Organisation’s recent resolution recognising kidney disease as a global public health priority, and are calling on the UK Government to show similar leadership by developing a strategy that integrates prevention, early detection, innovation and equitable access to care.
Read the full letter, signed by leading kidney organisations and members of the kidney community.
