Skip over main navigation
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
National Kidney Federation
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
Helpline 0800 169 09 36 Shop Donate
Menu
  • About us
    • Who we are
    • Contact us
    • Who's Who
    • NKF Strategy
    • Our Impact
    • NKF Job Vacancies
    • Who we work with
    • Our Industry Partners
    • Policy Statements
    • Ambassadors
  • About kidney disease
    • What is kidney disease?
    • About the kidneys
    • Types of kidney disease
      • Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
      • Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)
      • Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
      • Diabetes
      • Anaemia
      • Kidney Pain or Urine Diseases
      • Other Kidney Conditions
    • Treatment for kidney disease
      • Kidney Transplant
      • Haemodialysis
      • Peritoneal Dialysis
      • Drugs
    • Kidney biopsy
    • FAQs
    • Glossary
  • Living with kidney disease
    • Exercise
    • Kidney Beam
    • Home Dialysis Resource Centre
    • Sex and relationships
    • Dental care
    • Diet and food
    • Benefits and financial support
    • Holidays
    • Travel insurance
    • Your Stories
  • Help and support
    • Helpline
    • Helpline Information and leaflets
    • Benefits Guide
    • Holiday Information
    • Kidney Patient Associations
    • Support for children and young people
    • Organ Donation and Transplantation
  • Get involved & Events
    • Events
    • Water Challenge
    • Create a fundraising page
    • Your Kidney Anniversary
    • NKF Patients' Event
      • NKF Patients' Event 2019
      • NKF Patients' Event 2020
    • KPA Day (Virtual Event)
    • Volunteering opportunities
    • Other ways to help
    • Shop
    • Donate
  • News
    • News and Stories
    • COVID-19 and home dialysis webinar
    • Kidney Life magazine
    • In Touch newsletter
    • Press releases
    • Covid-19 Research and Studies
    • Covid19 Patients' Stories
  • Campaigning
    • All Party Parliamentary Kidney Group
    • NKF Manifestos
    • Home Dialysis Webinar
    • Home Dialysis Campaign
    • Campaign For Us
  • Admin
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • who-we-are
  1. About us
  2. Who we are

Who we are

The National Kidney Federation is unique because, although there are a large number of kidney charities, the NKF is the national kidney charity actually run by kidney patients for kidney patients.

Most renal units have a Kidney Patient Association (KPA) specifically attached to that unit, however, in January 1979 these independent charities realised that they needed a national organisation to fight their cause as renal provision was in dire difficulties, overstretched, and under resourced. If ever there was a case of post code provision, renal disease was it! Currently there are 51 KPAs and they come together as the controlling Council of the National Kidney Federation, the KPAs are both the ears and the eyes of the NKF and its controlling force. Patients are the Officers of the NKF, the Executive Committee of the NKF and some of the workforce of the NKF. Apart from nine members of staff, all other personnel are either kidney patients or carers of kidney patients.

Unlike other kidney charities, the NKF has only two roles, campaigning for improvements to renal provision and treatment, and national patient support services.

Campaigning

The NKF lobbied for, and got, an All Party Parliamentary Kidney Group of over 60 MPs and Lords established in Parliament and they feed that group on a day to day basis with the information needed to keep renal disease in front of the nose of Government.

They maintain a continuous dialogue with Ministers and the Department Of Health. They attend all of the main Political Party Conferences, and they joined with others under the BMA umbrella to be founder members of the Transplant Partnership.

When the Government announced that 34,000 renal patients were too small a group to warrant a National Service Framework the NKF took action. They formed with others a new charity The Kidney Alliance, and then worked with other members of it to create a Dialysis version of a National Service Framework (NSF) of their own. Then, they launched this document within the House of Commons in front of the very Ministers who had rejected the idea of an NSF. The Government took only 4 weeks from that day, to reverse their decision and announce a Renal NSF of their own. Quite a victory for any group, let alone a group of very ill patients! Part 1 of the Renal NSF was published by the Department of Health on 14 January 2004 with part 2 following in February 2005. The NKF provided considerable support and input to the Department of health during the preparation of these two vital documents.

Patient Support Services

The NKF provides and maintains a website which has rapidly become the hub of the renal community. This website is vast, and viewed by more than 1,000,000 patients, carers, renal professionals, doctors and nurses worldwide every year. The site is even more incredible when it is realised that like the NKF itself, the website was built by kidney patients. If the subject is renal, the answer is on this fantastic website. Above all the website has brought patients real information about their condition, and it has put patients in touch with each other. It has given kidney consultants, doctors and nurses a chance to talk with each other, and with patients, about issues and concerns that before the website they may have been completely unaware of.

For those that do not have access to computers, the NKF runs a FREE National Kidney Patient's HELPLINE

0800 169 09 36

Which takes about 200 calls a week from patients, carers and healthcare professionals, and the NKF distributes its own magazine, Kidney Life completely free of charge four times a year.

Whether you are an individual facing a Kidney Biopsy and just want one leaflet, or a Renal Unit requiring three thousand leaflets on anaemia, the solution is simple. You ring the Helpline and say what you need, then the information is downloaded into a set format, printed out, and put in the post that very same day. Thousands of different leaflets are possible, from travel insurance and holidays, to dialysis, transplantation and living donors.

Click here to see the Policy Statements of the NKF.

Once a year the NKF holds its own national patients' event to which more than 250 renal patients attend over a two day period. This is a very special occasion and one that takes much organisation. However, it is very successful and it provides a platform for the NKF to listen to patients, and for patients to tell the NKF where the shortcomings are in renal provision. Frequently, Government ministers and healthcare professionals are on hand to hear for themselves the issues, but above all it is an opportunity for a thorough exchange of views.

The NKF raises money directly from the public and is also supported in its work by the renal industries surrounding and supporting care of the disease. It exists solely because of the generosity of those sponsors and supporters, however money is always tight, and much more could be done with greater sponsorship.

Plans for the Future

The NKF wants to forge closer relationships with other kidney charities to ensure that resource is used effectively and that different groups dont keep reinventing the same wheel. A large number of kidney patients come from ethnic backgrounds and this presents separate difficulties which have to be faced, translation of leaflets, involvement in the patient organisations, shortages of donor organs, cultural views toward transplantation.

The Kidney Patient Associations (KPAs) themselves need strengthening and in the coming years the NKF intends to focus on providing real help to these groups of patients who are struggling to maintain their local service within their own units. 

In Europe the Renal Patients organisation is called the European Kidney Patients Federation (EKPF), and the NKF is already a full and active member taking the fight for better treatment and resource both to the European Parliament and to individual countries as necessary and bringing back to the UK the successful ideas practiced abroad.

The National Kidney Federation is constantly aware that the earlier renal disease can be detected and treated the better the outcome for the patient. Much effort is to be put in, to try to identify these groups at high risk who are unaware of the danger to their health and the possibility of their entering End Stage Renal Failure.

Whilst there clearly have been many advances in renal care since the foundation of the NKF in 1979, it remains true that the period started with a shortage of renal provision and resource and ends in exactly the same plight. The NKF hopes passionately that over the coming years we will see real strides being made in adequate provision of health care to the current 61,000 end stage renal failure patients in the UK.

Read a copy of our Memorandum and Articles of Association here

Ambassadors

Ambassadors

Read more

Published: 17th January, 2020

Updated: 29th January, 2021

Author: Pete Revell

Back to top

Showing 10 of 1

Latest

  • Kidney Patient Associations

  • Lynne's Story

    Lynne's Story

    Lynne shares how she received the gift of life from her brother.

  • Gurdev's Story

    Gurdev's Story

    Gurdev's daughter Bonnie, talks about her mother's renal journey.

  • Kidney Beam

    Kidney Beam

    Learn more about how kidney patients take care of their physical and mental health.

Most read

  • Pain in Kidney or Urine Diseases

    Pain in Kidney or Urine Diseases

    Pain is one of the more common reasons to go to a doctor.

  • Commonly  Prescribed  Drugs for Kidney Disease

    Commonly Prescribed Drugs for Kidney Disease

    Commonly Prescribed Drugs for Kidney Disease information leaflet

  • Sexual relationship in kidney failure for men

    Sexual relationship in kidney failure for men information leaflet

  • Coronavirus (Covid-19) - latest information and advice for patients

    Coronavirus (Covid-19) - latest information and advice for patients

    Updated with the latest information and guidance for people who are shielding.

  • Reciprocal Healthcare for Dialysis patients from 1st January 2021

    Reciprocal Healthcare for Dialysis patients from 1st January 2021

  • Small or Single Kidney

    Small or Single Kidney

    The kidneys play an important role controlling the amount of water in the body.

  • How long does the transplant operation take?

    How long does the transplant operation take? information leaflet

  • Fistula Care

    Care of your fistula information leaflet

  • Rachel's Story

    Rachel's Story

    Rachel shares her story of how she received a kidney from her dad.

  • New study will reveal how well Covid-19 vaccines protect dialysis patients

    New study will reveal how well Covid-19 vaccines protect dialysis patients

    We're joining forces with Kidney Research UK and Kidney Wales to fund new research to find out how well Covid-19 vaccines work in people who go to hospital for haemodialysis.

Tag cloud

Cholesterol kidney disease

Join our mailing list

If you would like to receive our Kidney life magazine or our monthly email newsletter, In Touch, please get in touch.

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter your email address Please enter a valid email address (e.g. [email protected])

Useful links

  • Contact us 
  • Careers
  • Terms & Conditions 
  • Privacy policy
  • Admin login
  • My details
  • Log out

Contact

Telephone: (01909) 544999
HELPLINE: 0800 169 09 36 (free from UK Landlines and mobiles)

.

.

.

.

     


Information on this website is intended for UK Residents only

Registered Office:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
The National Kidney Federation, The Point, Coach Road, Shireoaks, Worksop, Notts S81 8BW (c) 2021 
Registered in England and Wales as a Company limited by guarantee, Company No 5272349

and awarded charitable status, England and Wales Charity Number 1106735 Scottish Charity Number SC049431
Give as You Earn contributions No. CAF GY511