Patients and staff from Merthyr Tydfil Dialysis Unit took part in a walk around Bryn Bach Park Lake in June to raise funds for the UK’s leading kidney patient support charity, Kidney Care UK.
The charity was chosen following the way that their Kidney Support and Welfare Wales team have assisted patients at the unit. The activity was co-ordinated by Faye Boulton whose father is a home dialysis patient whose care is coordinated by the staff at the unit.
Kidney Support and Welfare Wales is a partnership that brings together the expertise of Kidney Care UK, the Welsh Kidney Network, which represents the NHS health boards of Wales, and Wales & West Utilities, who support the partnership through their Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance scheme.
Together, the organisations are providing specialist kidney support, with a focus on welfare and wellbeing. Support includes (but is not limited to): Personal Independence Payment (PIP) application support, assistance with applying for financial grants, kidney disease patient information, benefits advice, free specialist kidney counselling, and access to reduced utility tariffs. Since the Kidney Support & Welfare Wales project launched in 2023, funded by Wales & West Utilities 1024 patients have engaged with the new service (almost half of the haemodialysis population in Wales); including welfare and benefits checks for 352 people, resulting in a total of £198,468.20 in financial gains.
Faye Boulton, said: "It really felt like we were walking on sunshine. My father is a dialysis patient so this cause is very close to my heart. I am so grateful to Kidney Care UK and all the support my father receives. The walk raised just over £1,350"
Laura Talbot, Wales Project Manager at Kidney Care UK, added: “We are so grateful for the support of so many patients and staff at the Merthyr unit. We are here to ensure that no one faces kidney disease alone and so much of that is about being part of the kidney community in Wales. We can’t thank Faye and the staff and patients at the Merthyr dialysis unit enough for their generosity.”
For more information about the Kidney Support and Welfare Wales project go to https://kidneycareuk.org/get-support/kidney-support-and-welfare-wales/