Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for kidney disease diagnosis.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, Chronic kidney disease: Assessment and management [NG203], updated in November 2021, sets out best practice for clinicians in the diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease. The guidance covers monitoring for those patients at risk, pharmacological management and referral where appropriate. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng203

In addition to evidence-based guidance to support clinicians to diagnose problems of the kidney, we are also working to detect people at risk of kidney disease through the NHS Health Check Programme. The Programme, which is available to people aged between 40 and 74 years old who are not already on a chronic disease register, assesses people’s health and risk of developing certain health problems. Using this information, patients are supported to make behavioural changes and access treatment which helps to prevent and detect kidney disease earlier.

We are investing in new delivery models for the NHS Health Check, including nearly £17 million for the development and roll-out of an innovative new national digital NHS Health Check that will give people choice about where and when to have a check.

The NHS England Renal Services Transformation Programme has recently launched a toolkit which identifies principles and actions that the health care system can take to improve the identification of kidney disease. The principles will encourage integrated care systems to focus on early identification and management of kidney disease but outlines actions developed in collaboration with clinical and operational colleagues that could help them achieve better patient outcomes and experience.

NHS England is also reviewing renal service specifications. Historically, these specifications have focused on advanced disease. However, future versions will support early diagnosis and intervention.