Each year the RCGP’s Clinical Innovation and Research Centre (CIRC) takes on new clinical priorities and highlights quality improvement projects to champion specific clinical areas for its 50,000 members.
Think Kidneys is delighted that one of their areas for development and adoption and spread in 2017 will be acute kidney injury. The aim is to improve the recognition of and response to AKI in primary care.
Think Kidneys team member Dr Tom Blakeman, who worked on our Intervention workstream and was instrumental in developing our guidance for primary care and the AKI warning stage test results, is a GP. Dr Blakeman works with the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) Greater Manchester, and will be leading this work. Dr Blakeman will work with Think Kidneys and the Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network (KSS AHSN) to build on the work of the 2013 – 2016 RCGP Clinical Priority in Kidney Care to improve the recognition of and response to AKI in primary care. The KSS AHSN work is being led by Ed Kingdon.
Through collaboration with GPs and clinicians working in primary care, the RCGP Quality Improvement project seeks to produce resources which will be of real benefit to members. Think Kidneys will ensure that links are made to existing resources and that we publish new online resources to the Think Kidneys website.
Dr Blakeman –said “This is a great opportunity for us to work together to expand the resources available for primary care to help in the prevention, detection, management and treatment of AKI. This partnership with the RCGP provides an opportunity to build on the work carried out over the past 3 years. Taking an approach that is grounded in everyday clinical practice, it offers the potential to develop resources that support the implementation of best practice.”
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We’re delighted that the College is partnering with Think Kidneys, Kent Surrey and Sussex Academic Health Science Network and The National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) Greater Manchester to raise awareness of this important clinical area in general practice.
“This collaborative project aims to support our members and their practice teams in the identification and appropriate management for patients suffering from Acute Kidney Injury throughout the UK.
“I look forward to being involved in this project, and following its progress and the impact it has on GPs, our teams and our patients.”