Peter Pike, MP for Burnley raised the issue in a parliamentary question to health minister Rosie Winterton asking what facilities were available for renal patients on dialysis for treatment while they re away from home on business and holidays. Ms Winterton replied that there are arrangements enabling people to travel abroad, mainly within the European Union, but also reciprocal arrangements with other countries such as Australia.

In a frustrating correspondence lasting all summer, co-chairmen Michael Hill and Gary Lloyd strove to get health minister Rosie Winterton to agree to the basic right, quoting part one of the National Service Framework. Ms Winterton seemed to agree with the principle, but kept insisting it was up to Primary Care Trusts to agree to funding such breaks. In her Conference speech she again said that she was trying to include holiday dialysis in PCT contracts.

Gary and Michael said they and Ms Winterton both knew that PCTs face budget deficits and renal units were stretched far beyond their maximum capacity. Whitehall may have “set the NHS free” but without some form of central direction, PCT level commissioners are bound to use what scarce monetary resource is available to treat the greatest number of patients they can – and renal patients will not be a priority.

Having been refused legislation to ensure that PCTs to specify that patients should be entitled to four weeks’ treatment away from the home unit, the NKF is joining with CEAPIR (the European Renal Patients’ Association) to press this matter home in Brussels through the European Parliament. At the Council meeting, CEAPIR president Knud Erben said CEAPIR had approached the German government to clarify the position of the E111. NKF chief executive Tim Statham said that the E111 was due to be changed to a different system.

The full correspondence between the co-chairmen and Ms Winterton can be found on the NKF website at http://www.kidney.org.uk/campaigns