NEWS

OBITUARY

May 2025: We are all shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of Paul Johnson. a well known and active member of the local kidney community and a former SAKA committee member.

Here are the details for anyone who knew Paul and who would like to pay their respects:

Celebration of Life for Paul Johnson,Tuesday 17th June 10:50am Ardsley Crematorium, Doncaster Road, Barnsley, S71 5EH. There will be a collection for SAKA.

Reception for Paul Johnson, 12-3pm, The Strafford Arms, Stainborough, 10 Park Drive, S75 3EW

Please don't feel the need to wear black.

Research participants wanted 

The NHS national booking system is open for 7.5 million eligible people to book in their spring Covid-19 vaccination.

Those eligible for this year’s spring Covid-19 vaccine include adults aged 75 years and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and people with a weakened immune system who are at a greater risk from severe illness.

The Covid-19 virus continues to circulate and can be highly dangerous - particularly for the above groups – as hospitals saw an average of more than 1,000 beds each day over winter taken up by Covid patients.

The vaccine provides vital protection against different strains of the Covid virus and helps reduce the risk of catching and spreading it, as well as the risk of serious illness or needing to go to hospital if you do catch it.

Surveillance data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on last year’s spring Covid-19 vaccination programme showed that those who received a vaccine were more than 40% less likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19 for up to two months after vaccination, compared to those who did not receive one.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said: “The latest weekly NHS statistics show there are still more than 1,000 people in hospital with covid each day, showing that this continues to be a serious illness, particularly for older people and those with weakened immune systems.

“Previous immunity - either from having the virus or from a previous vaccination – can wane over time, so it is vital that those who are at higher risk top up their protection - with new evidence showing those who have received a Covid jab are 40% less likely to be admitted to hospital with the virus in the following two months.

“This spring, the NHS is offering the Covid-19 vaccine to protect those that are at highest risk of getting seriously unwell if they catch the virus – so if you are aged 75 or over, in a care home for older adults, or if you or your child have a weakened immune system, please do make an appointment for your vaccine as soon as possible.

“We are contacting everyone who is eligible for the jab via text, email, NHS App messages or letters but you don’t need to wait for an invite to book - just visit the NHS website, use the NHS App or call 119 now to book your appointment.”

Thousands of appointments are available every day across the country, with most happening at pharmacies and GP practices, and they will continue to run until Tuesday 17 June.

For more details and to book your slot click this link:  COVID-19 vaccine - NHS

CLICK HERE TO visit the Kidney Care UK website to see the results of 2024's Prem Survey

PREM is the Kidney Patients Reported Experience Measure. Each year kidney patients are asked to take part in a survey about their care and results are collated in order to improve renal care across the country.

The Head Coach of Kiveton Under 18's Mens Team is a dialysis patient at Sheffield and an ex member of the Sheffield Adult Transplant Games Team. The team now has the SAKA logo on their shirts.

We wish them all the best in their upcoming matches.

SAKA has sponsored a bus advertising campaign to promote organ donation. These adverts will be on several bus routes in Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and North East Derbyshire for four weeks.

One has been spotted by David, the SAKA Chair. Let us know if you spot any - tell us where and when (and send in a photo if you can): email contact@saka.org.uk

Message asking for Research Participants

Hello, our names are Rachel Kettle, Hema Chaplin and Paula Ormandy and we are health services researchers from the University of Salford working on this project about information and education for early-stage chronic kidney disease.

Our project is about helping patients with early-stage chronic kidney disease and their families get better information and education. The research has two parts: first, we look at all the evidence to see what works best; second, we talk to patients and families to hear their ideas and experiences. We’re inviting you to take part in the second part - sharing your thoughts with us.

We would like to learn from people with kidney disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, and their families, about what information and education interventions they have received through completing a survey. 

The survey will take roughly 30-40 minutes to complete. It can be completed on a smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer that has internet access.

Please see the information below or if you would prefer to watch a video summary of this information, please click here.

Click this link to participate:

SONG Life Participation: Consent

The NKF Peer Support Service has now expanded!

The Peer Support Service is a safe space where people can connect with our ‘peers’ to converse about lived experiences and they are there to support you. This might be over the phone, online, or in person.

The Peer Support Service has now expanded and is open to all individuals who have kidney disease,  Family members, partners or carers of somebody with kidney disease

The service provides an opportunity for all individuals to have a one-to-one chat with a fully trained peer supporter who may have similar life experiences and lifestyle stories. Whatever your experience or query about kidney disease, we can connect you with one of our peer supporters.

News from Patients Know Best / Renal Registry

Here is a message for renal patients:

Dear PKB users.

Sheffield will be the first eMED site to switch over to Real-Time reporting. this is when your blood results are forwarded to the Renal Registry immediately and not after 12 months. This is something that has been done for some time.

You can actually see what is reported on https://ukkidney.org/about-us/who-we-are/uk-renal-registry

Have a look. It tells you about SKI and how it compares with other units' metrics. It's easy to read and gives lots of interesting data etc.

When all parties are happy with the data, the system will switch to Real-Time reporting. This will affect the PKB system for at least 48 hours. UKKA will post information on their social media feeds to inform patients. We will put a message in the library part of PKB and flyers in outpatients and HD areas.

We will inform everyone once we have a date for the switchover. This will allow data to be live in the registry and enhance research into Kidney Disease.

Guidance on Shingles Vaccination

All those eligible should be offered the non-live vaccine Shingrix as part of the UK shingles vaccination programme which aims to protect those individuals most at risk from shingles and its complications.

The British Transplant Society and UK Kidney Association have produced guidelines on the shingles vaccination.

Click here for details.

In September 2023 two experienced consultant nephrologists from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire set up a new website for CKD patients and their families. It contains a wealth of information on how kidneys work, treatments for kidney disease etc. and is well worth looking at.

About - Chronic Kidney Disease Explained (ckdexplained.co.uk)

Video for Living Donors

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals have produced a video with advice for living kidney donors.

Click here to watch

The National Kidney Federation have partnered with ITN Business to produce ‘Understanding Kidney Health’, a news-style programme featuring clinicians, stories of patients, the loved ones who care for them, plus highlighting vital work being done by the National Kidney Federation.

For more details and to watch the programmes Click here.

Reimbursement of additional utility costs for home dialysis

Click here to visit the NKF Website for full details

The NKF alongside other kidney charities and professional bodies have been working with the UKKA Kidney Patient Safety Committee.

Together they have produced a toolkit to support reimbursement of additional utility costs for home dialysis.