Dialysis Newsletter
Welcome to our latest newsletter
This month’s newsletter focuses on Dialysis. We share LKN workstream progress and share one unit’s initiative to increase dialysis at home uptake. The team at Royal Free Hospital ran staff and patient education sessions and showed an increase in knowledge, confidence to discuss home therapies, and a shift in referrals.
We also share updates on important patient-focused initiatives- GOLD’s (Gift of Living Donation) Phone Peer Buddy scheme, and the Kidney Care UK PREM Survey. And we celebrate Royal Free KPA member, Louis, winning NKF’s KPA Member of the Year award.
Finally, details of the LKN dialysis at home strategy workshop, and the London PREM workshop are included, along with other training opportunities.
Dialysis Workstream Update
The Dialysis Workstream have updated the LKN Home Reimbursement Guidelines, to help units calculate how and how much to reimburse patients who are on dialysis at home. You can find the new guidance and a decision-making flow chart on the LKN website here.
The Workstream members have also completed template letters to support people’s re-housing applications to enable them to have dialysis at home. Your unit home therapies lead should have e-copies to share. Please ask them to send you a copy if you’d like to use the letter.
Improving uptake of Home Haemodialysis
A home therapy (home haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis) can be the best renal replacement option for many people, supporting them to continue with their day-to-day activities and priorities, and avoiding the need for thrice weekly visits to an in-centre dialysis unit. The Royal Free team share how they are improving patient and health care professional understanding of the benefits of dialysis at home and improving uptake.
Enhancing Home Haemodialysis Awareness: Road Show Initiative, Robyn Hodgson, Lead Nurse Home Therapies, Royal Free Hospital
The Royal Free London Home Haemodialysis (HHD) team partnered with Vantive’s Clinical Education and Medical Affairs team to deliver a series of in‑house road shows across four satellite dialysis units in early 2025. The aim was to increase awareness of home haemodialysis, showcase available technology, and engage both patients and renal healthcare professionals (HCPs). Over 100 HCPs—including consultants, nurses, technicians, and AHPs—took part in 14 education sessions, while patients in dialysis units and pre‑dialysis clinics had opportunities for hands‑on demonstrations and peer‑support conversations.
The programme led to substantial improvements in staff understanding and confidence, rising from 77% to 100% and 66% to 89% respectively. Forty patients received counselling about HHD, with 17 expressing interest and 7 joining the training waiting list. A key cultural shift also emerged, with nurses increasingly initiating referrals for HHD rather than relying solely on consultants.
This collaborative model proved highly effective, demonstrating how partnership-driven education can expand awareness and uptake of home dialysis across the NHS.
Kidney Care UK PREM Survey 2025
The Kidney Care UK PREM 2025 survey results were published at the end of January. You can find the results here Kidney Patient Reported Experience Measure | UK Kidney Association The detailed patient comments for each unit have been sent out to Clinical Directors and PREM Champions. The full national report, comments report, highlights leaflet, and posters on the Kidney PREM 2025 results will be released in April.
On 06 May 2026 14.00-15.30 The UK Kidney Association and KQIP, in partnership with the London Kidney Network will host a Kidney PREM quality improvement event for London.
The event aims to:
- Give an understanding of the Kidney PREM results
- Plan how to use the data to drive quality improvement
- Support units to build PREM improvement action plan
There will be opportunity to work with in facilitated break-out rooms with others from your unit to discuss the results and think together about how make improvements. If you would like to be part of the conversation, please register here Using PREM to drive Quality Improvement London
National Kidney Federation (NKF) Kidney Patient Association Awards: Win for Royal Free KPA Member
Chris Talbot, NKF Membership Development Lead explains:
“Our first ever Kidney Patient Association (KPA) Awards were presented at the National Kidney Federation’s KPA Day on 14th March, held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in Birmingham. There were 3 awards presented, KPA Member of the Year, KPA Chair of the Year and KPA of the Year. We were delighted to present the award of KPA Member of the Year to Louis from the Royal Free Hospital KPA. He was chosen as the deserved winner of this award after several nominations from his peers. The reasons given for their nominations highlighted Louis’ outstanding dedication, providing compassionate support, practical help, and a listening ear to patients, informed by his own lived experience. He is consistently positive, approachable, and reliable, playing a key role in organising activities and promoting engagement within the community. His tireless commitment, including volunteering his time beyond work and into retirement, has made a significant impact on those he supports.”
Congratulations to Louis!
This is the first time NKF have held these awards, and they will now be annual. Voting opens in December, so if you think someone in your organisation’s KPA should be recognised for the work they do to support others, look out for details of how to nominate them later in the year.
Louis collecting his award
GOLD Phone Buddy Programme Update
The LKN was delighted to support the GOLD Programme QUIP projects at Guys, Hammersmith, and Kings hospitals during 2023-2024. Founder and CEO, Dr Dela Idowu explains:
“The GOLD Phone Buddy Programme embeds a structured clinician referral pathway that complements clinical discussions about living kidney donation with Black patients. Through matched peer support, lived experience helps address community stigma and cultural barriers, and most importantly empowers patients to have informed conversations about living donation with family and friends, improving their chances to access a living donor transplant.”
Following involvement with the GOLD programme, Tamara received a kidney transplant from a live donor in 2024. You can read more about the impact of GOLD on Tamara in the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Cancer and Surgery Newsletter from November 2025 Patient thanks Guy’s and GOLD for new kidney
Upcoming LKN Events
LKN Dialysis at Home (DatH) Strategic Forum, Thursday 30 April 1230-1700
This event is designed to support each ICB/Unit to define:
- A clear home dialysis growth trajectory (including GRIP33 ambition)
- Agreement of local priorities and implementation actions
- Named accountable leadership
- Alignment between Trusts and ICBs
- A structured approach to measurement and delivery
The afternoon will include:
- An introduction to system challenges
- Thematic breakout sessions (pathways, home haemodialysis, workforce, PD access, data, and service design)
- Dedicated ICS/Trust time to consolidate plans
If you’d like to join us to develop clear, system-level commitment to increasing and sustaining equitable access to high-quality home dialysis across London, please register here https://lkndathstrategicforum.fillout.com/t/n6f4HDNSAmus.
Please be aware you will be asked to work with your Unit in advance of the meeting to answer some key questions, and that this is a highly interactive event.
Other Upcoming Events
AKC Symposium, King’s College London, 25 June 2026
This one-day event offers high quality talks and case study workshops for anyone working or interested in advanced kidney care.
Sessions include:
- Planning for the right access at the right time
- When to start renal replacement therapy
- Health literacy and digital access in Advanced Kidney Care
- Optimising home haemodialysis
- Caring for advanced kidney care patients with severe mental illness
- Medication in Advanced Kidney Care
- Supporting health at higher body weight across the Advanced Kidney Care pathway
- Transplantation in later life
- Transform AKC update
More information and booking page can be found here:
News from our partners
You can find updates from some of our partners which may be useful to you, below.