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Shaping the future of kidney care in Wales
This year’s Welsh Kidney Network (WKN) Annual Conference, organised and led by the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee's (NWJCC) WKN team, brought together people from across Wales to focus on the future of kidney care and how working together nationally can improve care for patients.
Held on 9 and 10 October in Llandrindod Wells, the conference included healthcare professionals, those involved in planning services, charities and patient representatives.
Chronic Kidney Disease is becoming increasingly common affecting 7.62% of the adult Welsh population and has increased by 33% over the last 12 years, finding ways to intervene earlier and deliver care differently is becoming increasingly important. The conference provided an opportunity to bring together evidence, patient experience and professional expertise to help shape how services respond.
A key focus was how Wales can do more to prevent kidney disease where possible, identify it earlier and help people stay well for longer. The conference also explored how people can have greater choice in their care, including improved access to kidney transplantation and dialysis at home.
Bringing people together across Wales
The programme looked at the whole experience of kidney care, with patient stories helping to bring discussions to life and keep the focus on what improvements could mean for people and their families.
Bringing these different perspectives together helps NWJCC understand what people need from kidney services now and in the future. This supports national planning, equitable access to care, and better use of NHS resources, with the aim of improving outcomes for patients wherever they live in Wales.
Melanie Wilkey, Director of Specialised Services at the NWJCC, said: “Every stage of the kidney care pathway has the potential to make a real difference to a person’s health and quality of life. From preventing or slowing the progression of disease through to dialysis and transplantation, our focus is on improving outcomes for patients.
“Bringing together the breadth of expertise in the room gave us an opportunity to look across that whole pathway, consider where we can make the greatest difference, and how different parts of care can work better together.
“Ultimately, we want people with kidney disease to receive the best possible care and achieve the best possible outcomes, wherever they live in Wales.”
Celebrating excellence in kidney care
The conference also celebrated excellence in kidney nursing through the Liz Baker Excellence in Renal Nursing Award, which honours the legacy of Liz Baker and her 32-year renal nursing career.
This year’s award was presented to Sebin Sebastian, recognising his compassionate leadership, commitment to patients and colleagues, and contribution to improving services and patient safety.
Turning learning into action
A recent Deep Dive into kidney services has been undertaken, which is a detailed review carried out by the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee (NWJCC) to understand how services are working, what is working well and where further improvements could be made.
The conference created the opportunity to bring people together to discuss how service improvements can be taken forward.
Together, the learning from the Deep Dive and the collaborative discussions at the conference will help inform the Welsh Kidney Network’s work to improve the kidney care pathway, with a focus on earlier intervention, greater choice and more equitable access to care across Wales.