Kidney Care UK, the UK's leading kidney patient support charity, and Southern Water, whose supply area covers Thanet, Crawley, Hastings and the Isle of Wight, have joined forces to support more than 150,000 people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the south of England.
Through the partnership the two organisations aim to provide additional support to 26,500 vulnerable people with CKD.
Staff from Southern Water have received kidney disease training from Kidney Care UK to help them understand the specific needs of this community.
People with kidney disease have been disproportionately affected by the cost of living crisis, particularly when it comes to utility usage and costs.
Many people with kidney disease also have anaemia so they can feel very cold all of the time and some kidney treatments, like home haemodialysis, can be very energy intensive.
Laurie Cuthbert, Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications at Kidney Care UK, said: “This is an exciting partnership to transform the support that our kidney community will receive in the Southern Water supply network. We are pleased to be working in partnership with Southern Water to help support more of the 150,000 people living with chronic kidney disease in this region to enable them to receive support appropriate to their condition. The partnership will allow both organisations to raise greater awareness of chronic kidney disease more generally and be supported with community awareness days and drop in clinics at dialysis units across the Southern Water network."
Katy Taylor, Chief Customer Officer at Southern Water, added: “We are delighted to be working closely with this brilliant charity, to ensure that the support we offer vulnerable customers reaches those who really need it. Our team will be getting in touch with as many people as possible, through this partnership, but I would also urge anyone who needs help to get in touch with us and we will always do what we can to support you.”
