New report highlights economic impact of kidney disease

A new independent report published by Kidney Research UK this week highlights the economic impact of kidney disease. The report Kidney disease: A UK public health emergency reveals how kidney disease is costing the UK economy £7 billion a year and estimates that costs could rise to £13.9 billion in the next decade. 

Alongside this, the report makes projections that could see NHS capacity for dialysis treatment overwhelmed unless the disease becomes a government priority.

Professor Julia Newton, Medical Director at the Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria, said:

“The report highlights the growing number of patients living with the disease, the devastating impact of kidney disease on the UK economy and NHS services which threaten to become overwhelmed. As highlighted in the report, kidney disease creates substantial health inequalities, leading to thousands of premature deaths each year and reduced quality of life.

“However, there is hope. There is growing evidence that the cost of managing kidney disease can be reduced through early detection, intervention, and outreach. Modelling indicates that significant, cost-effective patient benefit can be achieved through the implementation of existing technologies and guidelines for prevention, management, and treatment of kidney disease.

“Across the North East and North Cumbria, I’m pleased that the AHSN NENC is delivering a Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) programme, to tackle some of these issues in the region. The CKD programme will focus on improving earlier diagnosis and supporting optimised treatment of people with CKD to slow disease progression and reduce the development of cardiovascular comorbidity.”

Read the Kidney Disease UK news story to find out more and to access the full report.

To find out more about the Chronic Kidney Disease programme in the North East and North Cumbria, click here.