Kidney community collaborates on shaping the future of kidney care | Kidney Care UK

Kidney Care UK is working with our colleagues at Kidney Research UK, the National Kidney Federation, the PKD Charity and the UK Kidney Association to urge the government to take urgent action on kidney disease. We believe that by working together as a united voice we can help encourage real change to improve the future of kidney care.

I want to contribute my experiences to help create a national kidney disease strategy

For far too long, kidney disease has been under-prioritised. We need the government to outline a strategy for tackling kidney disease and reducing the anticipated increase in cases. Last year as part of this campaign we delivered an open letter to Downing Street: Kidney Care UK stands with charities calling on No.10 to take urgent action on kidney disease.

Representatives from Kidney Research UK, the NKF, Kidney Care UK, the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Charity, and the UK Kidney Association alongside patients representing each charity pictured outside Westminster — Last October we stood with other charities to call on No.10 to take urgent action on kidney disease.

This letter was signed by over 13,000 people across the kidney community and shows how important this issue is to you all. We also attended an All-Party Parliamentary Kidney Group (APPKG) in Westminster, chaired by Jo White MP, that discussed people's experiences of kidney disease and why a strategy is so important.

The World Health Organisation’s recent recognition of kidney disease as a priority and opportunities to help shape the future of the NHS in England through the new 10 year plan highlight that there is a real need for new thinking about the delivery of management and care of people with kidney disease.

To get this right, the voices of those who use, deliver and plan kidney services are central.

How you can help

We’re now asking you to help us by sharing your experiences and your knowledge about how kidney disease affects you. Whether you have kidney disease yourself, have a loved one who has kidney disease, or if you work with or support people with kidney disease – we need you!

We want to hear from you about what needs to change and what should be prioritised in a new national strategy for kidney disease.

In collaboration with our charity partners, we're running a series of free listening events where we’ll explore:

Priorities for improving kidney care and outcomes
Challenges and variation in current services
Opportunities to adopt innovation and new models of care
Future service planning and decision making
How we ensure people with kidney disease are at the heart of the strategy.

The strategy will focus on England whilst recognising the impact on Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. People from all nations are welcome to take part.

New national strategy for kidney disease: free listening events

4 February 2026 – online virtual launch event, 12-2pm
26 February 2026 – in person face-to-face event in The Birmingham Conference and Events Centre, 9.30am-4pm
23 March 2026 – online virtual event focusing on London and the East of England, 12-2pm
25 March 2026 – in person face-to-face event in The Studio, Leeds, 9.30am-4pm
20 April 2026 – online virtual event focusing on the devolved nations (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), 12-2pm
29 April – in person face-to-face event in The Holiday Inn, Bristol City Centre, 9.30-4pm.

Tell your MP about our campaign and ask them to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

We need your help to make sure people with the power to make decisions know about our campaign. Please find your MP using our tool below and use our template to get in touch with them.

Please note: if your MP is Wes Streeting (Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) or Keir Starmer (Prime Minister) you will need to change the text slightly. Get in touch with us if you need help with this.

Email your MP

Enter your postcode below to find your local MP and load our email template. You will be able to open the template in your email app or copy the text over.

Please make sure to enter your own contact details including your name and postal address so that your MP knows you are a constituent – otherwise they aren't obligated to respond to you.

. . . and please don't forget to delete the <<chevrons>> at the end!

Your voice is powerful. If you wish to, please add in your own experience of kidney disease. It's best to do this after opening your email app or copying the template over.

Your MP is:

Your email

Campaign

Email content

I am writing to you to highlight my concerns that not enough is being done to improve kidney disease care. Around 7.2 million people in the UK have chronic kidney disease (CKD) and it is one of the country’s fastest growing health crises. It is time that the Government creates a plan to make sure everyone with kidney disease receives the treatment and support they need.

Despite the very heavy burden of kidney disease on me and many other kidney patients, it has been under-prioritised. There is no national strategy to reduce its impact. As such, the kidney community are united in calling for a modern service framework on kidney disease.

Please help raise the profile of kidney disease by writing to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and asking how the Government will address the growing challenge of kidney disease. Kidney Care UK has provided a template letter if you would like to use it:

https://kcuk.hacdn.org/media/documents/Template_letter_MP_-_Minister_FL.docx

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
<<<Name, and full postal address>>>

We’ve drafted a template email for your MP for you, but please change it and personalise it so they know exactly what you think about this issue.

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