National Kidney Federation Annual Patients' Event 2023

NKF Annual Patients' Event 

Thank you to everyone who joined us at this year’s annual patients’ event, held at Radisson Blu Hotel, East Midlands Airport

Attendees had the opportunity to connect with peers, build new relationships, and receive support in a social kidney community setting. A range of insightful presentations from professional and patient guest speakers covered a wide range of topics including benefits advice, kidney networks, vascular access, and staying active with kidney disease. 

Thank you to our main event sponsors:   

Also thanks to CSL Vifor who provided a financial grant towards the costs of organising the patient event.    

The weekend event was organised to ensure that patients feel supported and are never alone in their journey surrounding their health and experiences with kidney disease.

Several guest speakers attended the event. See the link to various presentations below.


David Coyle, NKF Chair



Dr. Sharlene Greenwood, a Consultant Physiotherapist at King’s College Hospital.
The development and research findings of Kidney Beam – a digital health intervention to encourage people living with kidney disease to be more physically active.
Dr Sharlene Greenwood's Presentation


Dr. Auranga Zaib 
Dialysis has seen a number of advances in the proceeding decades. When it comes to haemodialysis, vascular access (VA) and surgically created arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs), these form an integral part of a kidney patients' renal replacement therapy journey. VA has seen a number of exciting developments in the recent years and endovascular fistulas (endoAVF) are now an additional option available to patients. As much as we would like AVFs to work like machines of perpetual motion, these are not without their challenges and outcomes are still not ideal.
Dr Auranga Zaib's Presentation 


Tess Harris, Chief Executive of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Charity.
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is the most common inherited kidney condition worldwide, affecting an estimated 1 in 1,000 people. About 1 in 10 of all UK adult dialysis and transplant patients have PKD. Over the past decade, advancements have been made in PKD research, particularly with genomic/genetic testing and an increased understanding of the condition, but more research is needed to slow and hopefully stop kidney failure. A major milestone for patients came in 2015 with the licensing of tolvaptan, the first ever drug for treating ADPKD. Tess will talk about the impact of tolvaptan, discovery of new PKD genes, potential therapies and how PKD patients can help future research.
Tess Harris Polycystic kidney Presentation


Prof David Wheeler, Professor of Kidney Medicine.
“Gliflozins” are a class of medicine developed to treat type 2 diabetes. They cause the kidneys to “leak” glucose and thereby result in a reduction in blood sugar levels. Although there were concerns about these medicines causing kidney damage, during mandatory safety studies, there appeared to be protection of kidney function. This observation led to trials in patients with kidney disease. These trails have demonstrated that Gliflozins help to preserve kidney function not only in patients with diabetic kidney disease but also in patients with kidney disease who did not have type 2 diabetes. 
Prof David Wheeler's Presentation


Daljit Bains, Welfare Rights Officer for Renal.
A stroll through the maze that is the Benefits System addressing the various categories of benefits and how they interact with each other.
Daljit Bains's Presentation


Stephen Cass, London Kidney Network Director and Vicky Ashworth, North West Kidney Network Lead.
How renal clinical networks help clinical teams collaborate and work together to improve clinical outcomes and patient experience.Examples of local projects in progress the North West and in London, including some exciting new innovations. 

Vicky and Stephen's Presentation


Andrew McAllister
Provided a patient's perspective on CKD and the power of positivity.
Andrew shares his experiences of CKD, anaemia and gout, whilst attempting to put forward the suggestion that as patients our battle to stay positive is one we can win in the long run.
Andrew Mc Allister's Presentation



Some Pictures From The Event:

        
        

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Author: Pete Revell

Location: Radisson Blu Hotel, East Midlands Airport

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