National Kidney Federation is once again joining with members of the Kidney Charities Together group to support the Diabetes Professional Care Conference. The conference takes place virtually this year and is free to attend.

The main conference for health professionals runs from Wednesday 11^th to Friday 13^th November and offers CPD certification. The programme for a day designed just for patients is being developed to take place on Saturday 14^th November.

The Kidney Charities Together group works together to create one powerful voice for the kidney community in the UK. The group consists the British Renal Society, Kidney Care UK, Kidney Research UK, the National Kidney Federation, the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Charity and the Renal Association.

At the conference, the Kidney Charities Together group is hosting a virtual exhibition space where delegates can meet representatives from the charities to discuss issues such as:

• enabling better monitoring of diabetes to allow earlier identification of kidney disease
• the consequences of kidney disease being overlooked
• the risks of developing diabetes after having a kidney transplant

"Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure in the UK," said a spokesperson for the Kidney Charities Together group. "The scale of the problem is vast - diabetic kidney disease means that over 22,000 people in the UK rely on dialysis or transplant to stay alive.

"Diabetes health professionals and patients must be supported to understand the risks of developing kidney disease and how to manage them. With Covid-19 providing an extra threat to already vulnerable diabetes and kidney patients, sharing information has never been more important. The Diabetes Professional Care conference provides a great opportunity to explore these issues together in a safe, online space.

"The organisers have worked hard to adjust to the circumstances and convert this popular conference into a digital event and we look forward to supporting the programme."

If you are a health professional, you can register to attend the conference for free here: www.diabetesprofessionalcare.com.

Diabetes and/or kidney patients can register for the kidney patient day here: www.unitedthroughdiabetes.com.