Kidney Care UK welcomed a debate in the Scottish Parliament on 3 September on ‘Recognising the impact of chronic kidney disease’.
The debate was attended by Kidney Care UK’s Policy Officer for Scotland who also met individually with a number of the key debate speakers and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to highlight the impact and extent of CKD in Scotland and the urgent need for policy change and development.
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people in Scotland who live with long-term conditions, including chronic kidney disease – CKD – are able to access the best possible care and support, and can benefit from healthcare services that are safe and effective and that put people at the centre of their own care.Jenni Minto, Minister for Public Health
The debate saw cross party support and contributions from MSPs from Labour, SNP and the Scottish Conservative and Unionist parties. A number of key issues and calls for action were made during the debate including the need to address the social, emotional and financial impact of CKD, to improve in-centre dialysis transport, to look at home dialysis availability and uptake in Scotland and to strengthen the transplant pathway.
We must recognise the psychosocial toll on people with kidney disease and their families. Sadly, too many people with CKD feel that they are left to get on with it alone. There is a real and pressing urgency to ensure that specialist support is available to all who require it, regardless of where they live.Kenneth Gibson MSP (SNP)
Every missed opportunity for a transplant is a chance lost for someone to live a fuller, healthier life. The transplant pathway needs to be strengthened, including with better support for living donation.Kenneth Gibson MSP (SNP)
Calls by MSPs in the debate for the prevention and early detection of CKD were seen as central to addressing CKD in Scotland:
Kidney charities are clear that the key to tackling kidney disease is not in the accident and emergency department, when it might already be too late, but in the community. It is about prevention and early intervention rather than crisis management.Jackie Baillie MSP (Labour)
Early intervention is key.Emma Harper MSP (SNP)
Encompassing all the issues discussed were calls by MSPs for a national CKD framework in Scotland:
Kidney Care UK is calling for a national chronic kidney disease framework that will set standards for good-quality care. I urge the Scottish Government to embrace that and agree to it . . . let us have a national strategy, let us make a difference and let us focus on tackling kidney disease.Jackie Baillie MSP (Labour)
CKD is one of the most prevalent and serious long-term conditions in Scotland, yet it arguably remains largely absent from national health planning . . . The time for the Scottish Government to place a national and strategic focus on kidney health, and to ensure that every person with CKD has access to the care, support and treatment that they need, is now.Kenneth Gibson MSP (SNP)
CKD is one of the most common and resource-intensive long-term conditions in Scotland, yet it remains one of the few areas that does not have a dedicated policy with a real focus. We have heard tonight that that must change, because we know about the scale of the challenge.Jeremy Balfour MSP (Independent)
Keeping Kidney Care UK in the conversation
Direct reference was made by MSPs during the debate to Kidney Care UK's campaigns and work, including our:
- Left to get on with it report,
- In-centre dialysis transport in Scotland report
- Successful campaign to secure national guidelines for home dialysis energy reimbursement in Scotland
- Bloody Amazing Kidneys campaign.
Kidney Care UK will continue to campaign in Scotland for positive service change and development, and to ensure the voices and experiences of people with kidney disease are heard.