On 15^th May 2025, a Parliamentary Summit in London reflected on five years of campaigning for better access to home dialysis. The Summit was held by the All-Party Parliamentary Kidney Group (APPKG), with support from national kidney charities, Lords and MPs, national Clinical Directors and other medical professionals.

As the number of individuals requiring dialysis treatment continues to grow, demand for care is set to rise. To help relieve the strain on the in-centre dialysis units and hospital trusts, more work must be done to work together to encourage more eligible patients to undergo dialysis at home. By doing so, it could save the NHS nationally £3 million by increasing home dialysis treatment by just 1% (300 patients on home dialysis nationally).

The Summit highlighted the urgent need for increased political support, capital spend and stronger leadership to make lifesaving at home treatments for kidney failure more accessible to patients. Transitioning more patients from hospital or clinic based dialysis to home care not only improves patients' quality of life but also delivers significant cost savings. The Summit raised concerns with Members of Parliament and called for policy changes to make home dialysis more accessible to patients across the UK.

Home dialysis allows patients to do their treatment themselves, or with help from a family member or carer. Home dialysis offers flexibility, comfort and control over daily life, it can help patients live healthier lives with fewer hospital visits and better health outcomes. However, stark findings revealed that many people in disadvantaged areas, including within our communities, face significant barriers to accessing home dialysis.

During the Summit, highly respected and influential guest speakers highlighted the significant cost saving benefits of home dialysis and its positive impact on patient care. With a ‘growing tidal wave’ of individuals starting dialysis and in-centre capacity under increasing strain and a lack of capital spend, the urgency to educate, train and support more patients to dialysis at home has never been greater.

The Lord Jitesh Gadhia said; "I was pleased to attend the Parliamentary Summit and welcome this initiative. Improving access to home dialysis should be a 'no-brainer’; it improves the quality of life for kidney patients and saves money for the NHS. The current variability in rates of home dialysis across the UK is a postcode lottery but also demonstrates the existence of best practice which can be emulated more uniformly throughout the country. I would urge all stakeholders to work together to meet the sensible target proposed by the National Kidney Federation of achieving 20% home dialysis. This would have a positive impact on the lives of thousands of people - a prize worth fighting for."

Consultant Renal Physician, Royal Derby Hospital and National Clinical Director, Internal Medicine National Programme of Care, Specialised Commissioning NHSE, Richard Fluck commented; “There is no magic bullet to delivering more home dialysis, it requires leadership and meticulous attention over an extended period. Clinical teams need to work hard to deliver and improve standards. Home dialysis has the potential to be life enhancing for individuals and we should listen to patients, their evidence, and accept the challenge to do better. It is delivered through leadership, engagement and an improvement mindset.”

National Kidney Federation Chair, David Coyle said; “I spent 8 years on home haemodialysis (HHD) whilst waiting for my second kidney transplant. Dialysing at home provided greater autonomy and better health outcomes. This enabled me to remain in work, and maintain an active family and social life, manage my kidney failure on my own terms. Our aim at the National Kidney Federation is to continue to promote home dialysis and the benefits it can have for patients and their families. I was delighted to hear the speakers talk about the work being done to enable more patients to do dialysis at home, but there is still lots of work to do.”

Patricia Gooden, a double transplanted kidney patient who was on home dialysis on two different occasions shared: “I chose to dialyse at home with Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) being my specific type of home therapy. At the time I felt that it was the best type of treatment for me because I was still in full time employment. PD provided me with the flexibility to be in my own home whilst surrounded by family members. I self-managed my therapy sessions as I could ‘go on’ the machine at a time that suited me usually at night. This enabled me to maintain my independence during the day to do what I wanted! After careful planning, I was able to take the equipment with me on a fourteen-day Mediterranean cruise where I dialysed every night! When my first transplanted kidney rejected, I made the decision when asked, to go on PD again. I am so glad that I did, especially with all the problems during covid, I felt safe in my own home. I would strongly recommend PD to renal patients considering home therapies.”

For more information on the recent APPKG Parliamentary Summit visit:
www.kidney.org.uk/appkg-meetings