A new report is published today – NHS Think Kidneys AKI Programme Review and Evaluation – to mark the success of the Think Kidneys programme. Health Minister Philip Dunne congratulated the programme for what he described as “a world leading and extraordinary programme for change and improvement that has achieved so much and will have a direct impact on patient care and experience.” The Minister was speaking at our closing review event on 23 February 2017 at which we marked the official end of the programme after three years working to raise awareness of acute kidney injury (AKI) across all sectors of the NHS.
Dr Mike Durkin, NHS National Director of Patient Safety, also attended the event and told delegates
“The Think Kidneys programme has been successful in raising awareness of this costly condition and getting to grips with how data can drive improvement. It is important that we take time to evaluate our work so I am very pleased to see this review, which brings together all the outputs from the programme. The NHS is the first national healthcare organisation in the world to attempt to tackle AKI with a system-wide approach, and this programme clearly shows the benefits of working across all sectors, including social care settings where many of our most vulnerable patients reside. The NHS now needs to grab the lessons learned from this excellent work and share it relentlessly.”
Our Chairman, Richard Fluck, (former National Clinical Director (Renal) for NHS England) added:
“This programme has developed a wide range of guidance and information across all healthcare sectors to help with the prevention, detection, management and treatment of AKI. AKI is associated with the deaths of around 100,000 people each year, and around 30% of cases could be prevented. The burden for affected individuals is considerable and it is also costly for the NHS. This evaluation and review of our work demonstrates the success of the programme over and above the original objectives. Whilst this phase of the work has now concluded, Think Kidneys and the UK Renal Registry will continue to develop resources on the website, lead improvements in care and report on the impact of AKI across England.”
Peter Naish, patient representative on the Board said of his experience
“It’s been a privilege to work with so many passionate and enthusiastic people. I have been very impressed by the way patients who have had the experience of AKI have been involved in all the Think Kidneys work. I am confident this programme will have a significant impact for the care of patients at risk of, or with, AKI.”
The new report describes how AKI was recognised initially as a safety challenge for the NHS by NHS England in the Five Year Forward View. Two Patient Safety Alerts followed, and a national incentive scheme, and most pathology labs in England (75%) have implemented a new algorithm to raise an alert when AKI is detected from a blood test. This alert improves the detection of AKI and allows information to be collected by the UK Renal Registry. This will deliver better care for individual patients and for the population.