Proposal to improve care for kidney patients published
A proposal to improve care for kidney patients put forward by leading renal clinicians from St George’s and St Helier hospitals will be discussed later this month.
The clinicians’ proposal, to improve the outcome and experience for renal patients who need inpatient care and more specialised support, will be discussed at a Committees-in-Common on 22 June 2021.
The proposal is to bring these services together into a single brand new unit at St George’s Hospital (Tooting). This proposal would cover around 5% of renal patients’ contact with kidney services. There would be no change to existing dialysis services and renal clinics in local hospitals, units or at home.
The new unit at St George’s would receive around £80m of investment and would increase capacity for this level of care, including extra beds and additional dedicated theatre sessions. Consolidation will also help address issues around quality, efficiency and workforce.
The Kidney Patient Associations from St George’s and St Helier Hospitals have said that, as “the bodies representing kidney patients, we support this proposal from the clinical teams to improve renal care.”
The proposal relates to the Improving Healthcare Together consultation in 2020. This is because under these plans, six major services, including surgery and intensive care, will be moving to the new Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (SECH) to be built in Sutton. Inpatient renal care would move with these services.
During the consultation, renal leaders from St George’s and St Helier submitted their alternative proposal that: “…we could make a further step change in improving the care we offer if we could formally combine forces and locate all our tertiary renal medical and surgical practice in one new purpose built facility…(and) that the right place for a combined renal service should be at St George’s.”
Since then, St George’s, Epsom and St Helier and the wider NHS in South West London and Surrey to develop this clinically led proposal for change. Papers relating to these proposals are being published and the Committees in Common is being live-streamed on Microsoft Teams on 22 June from 6pm – 7pm.
Papers and meeting details can be found here.
Questions can be submitted in advance by emailing SWLRenal@swlondon.nhs.uk or by phoning 020 3574 8659 before 10am on Tuesday 22 June.
