The National Kidney Federation is campaigning for more home dialysis to keep patients safer from Covid-19.
The charity is calling for support, after research from the UK Renal registry revealed that 637 patients who dialysed in a hospital or a unit died from Covid-19 compared to 56 patients who dialysed at home.
Honorary president of the NKF, Kirit Modi, said the charity is urgently requesting hospitals to review their provision for dialysing at home and to offer it to more kidney patients.
He said: “We are most grateful to the amazing support NHS staff continue to provide to kidney patients in these exceptional circumstances.
“We now know that kidney patients who dialyse at home are safer from Covid-19 compared
to patients who dialyse in a hospital or a dialysis unit.
“There is significant unwarranted variation in the provision of home dialysis across the UK at present. We are urging Ministers of Health in the four nations and the whole kidney community to take action now and help save lives.”
In September last year, the charity hosted a webinar highlighting lower rates of Covid-19 in people that dialysed at home.
The NKF believes that patients who dialyse in a hospital or a unit have a higher risk of infection due to travelling to and from their home for dialysis and spending several hours in a hospital or a unit each time they dialyse.
It is calling for a minimum of 20% of dialysis patients doing so at home by the end of 2024.
