Renal (kidney)

Although COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted across the UK, you should still take suitable precautions. 
Kidney Care UK provide up to date information regarding Coronavirus guidance for individuals with kidney disease:

Coronavirus advice from Kidney Care UK

We provide a number of high quality renal services to patients across southwest London, Surrey and further afield. 

Haemodialysis 

St Helier Dialysis Unit (view on map)

St Helier Hospital Wrythe Lane
Carshalton, Surrey
SM5 1AA
Tel: 020 8296 8448
Haemodialysis Manager: Gaelle Oumarou.
Haemodialysis Matron: Albert Acheamfour.

Satellite Units

Crawley Dialysis Unit (view on map)

The Crawley Kidney Unit, 
Whitworth Road,
Crawley
RH11 7SS  
Tel: 01293 511776
Clinic Manager: Neil Outwin.
Consultant Nephrologist : Dr Fiona Harris.

Croydon University Hospital Dialysis Unit (view on map)

Elizabeth Ward Dialysis Unit
Croydon University Hospital
London Road
Thornton Heath
Croydon CR7 7YE
Tel: 020 8401 3031
Clinic Manager: Hafeez Aumeer.
Consultant Nephrologist: Dr Mysore Phanish, Dr Alifa Abbas.

Epsom Dialysis Unit (view on map)

Unit 2
Epsom Business Park
Kiln Lane
Epsom
KT17 1JF
Tel: 01372 730 080
Clinic Manager:  Gladys Adu
Consultant Nephrologist Dr Mona Wahba, Dr Nicholas Cole.

Farnborough Dialysis Unit (view on map)

Unit 14
Southwood Business Park
Armstrong Mall
Farnborough 
GU14 0NR
Tel: 01252 359 770
Clinic Manager: Ana Ivanetic
Nephrologists: Dr David Evans, Dr Robin Ramphul.

Kingston Dialysis Unit (view on map)

2 Manorgate House
Manorgate Road
Kingston KT2 7AL
Tel: 020 8296 4888
Clinic Manager: Karen Songhurst.
Consultant Nephrologist: Dr Rebecca Suckling.

Sutton Dialysis Unit (view on map)

Copthall House
Grove Road
Sutton
Surrey SM1 1DA
Tel: 020 8652 5270
Clinic Manager: Csaba Papp
Consultant Nephrologist: Dr Mona Wahba, Dr Joe Wang.

West Byfleet Dialysis Unit (view on map)

Camphill Industrial Estate
Camphill Road
West Byfleet
Surrey KT14 6EW
Tel: 01932 359140
Clinic Manager: Ramina Serrano
Consultant Nephrologists: Dr Subash Somalanka, Dr Pritpal Virdee.

Outpatient Sites

The renal unit at St Helier Hospital sees patients on an outpatient basis at many different sites, providing a comprehensive range of outpatient clinics to meet the different health needs of our patients, including a number of combined clinics.

East Surrey Hospital (view on map)

Canada Avenue
Redhill
Surrey RH1 5RH
Tel: 01737 768511

Epsom Hospital (view on map)

Dorking Road
Epsom, Surrey
KT18 7EG
Tel: 01372 735735

Fleet Hospital (view on map)

61 Church Road
Fleet
Surrey GU51 4LY
Tel: 01483 782000 

Frimley Park Hospital (view on map)

Portsmouth Road
Frimley
Surrey GU16 7UJ
Tel: 01276 604176

Leatherhead Hospital (view on map)

Poplar Road
Leatherhead
Surrey
KT22 8SD
Tel: 01372 384384

Croydon University Hospital (view on map)

London Road
Thornton Heath
Croydon
CR7 7YE
Tel: 020 8401 3000

Royal Surrey Hospital (view on map)

Egerton Road
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 7XX
Tel: 01483 571122

St Helier Hospital (with dedicated renal outpatient department) (view on map)

Wrythe Lane
Carshalton
Surrey
SM5 1AA
Tel: 020 8296 2283

Ashford and St Peter's Hospital (view on map)

Guildford Road
Chertsey
Surrey
KT16 0PZ
01932 872000

The renal unit is staffed by a team of expert consultant nephrologists, two tiers of junior doctors, renal nurses, clinical nurse specialists, and a number of dedicated support staff, including a renal specialist pharmacist, social worker and dieticians.

The unit is also supported by a dedicated team of administrative staff and technical teams including IT and maintenance for all of our medical equipment.

Consultant staff

• Dr David Makanjuola - joint lead for haemodialysis, infection control and junior doctor training
• Dr Fiona Harris - joint medical director and lead for vasculitis
• Dr Ginny Quan - Joint Divisional Medical Director for Renal, Lead for home haemodialysis. Transplantation, Living Donor assessment and general nephrology, St Helier
• Dr Pauline Swift - lead for research
• Dr Vipula De Silva - Lead for Renal IT, General Nephrology and Predialysis Clinics, Croydon
• Dr Simon Winn – consultant nephrologist, St Helier
• Dr Ranjit Shail – Consultant Nephrologist, AMU Physician, St Helier
• Dr Mysore Phanish - Lead Consultant for Transplant, Clinician Scientist-SW Thames Institute for Renal Research, Croydon
• Dr Alifia Abbas – consultant nephrologist, Croydon, East Surrey
• Dr Hugh Gallagher - consultant nephrologist
• Dr Mona Wahba - lead for clinical risk
• Dr Nicholas Cole – Consultant Nephrologist - St Helier vasculitis clinic, General Nephrology at East Surrey Hospital, Crawley low clearance clinic, Epsom satellite haemodialysis.
• Dr David Evans – consultant nephrologist, Farnborough
• Dr Robin Ramphul – consultant nephrologist, Farnborough, Royal Surrey, St Helier
• Dr Rebecca Suckling – Consultant Nephrologist, Associate Medical Director for Transformation and Clinical Lead for Build Your Future Hospitals Program, Kingston
• Dr Joe Wang – consultant nephrologist, Sutton, AMU
• Dr Subash Somalanka – Consultant Nephrologist, Clinical Lead for vascular access, Registrar training/recruitment, St Helier, West Byfleet, St Peter's
• Dr Pritpal Virdee – consultant nephrologist, West Byfleet, Ashford & St Peter's
• Dr Peter Andrews - consultant nephrologist, Frimley Park
• Dr Tracey Salter – Joint Lead for the Frimley Renal service, Pre Dialysis (Farnborough), General Nephrology, Renal Pregnancy, Renal Vascular Access and Patient Safety Clinician, Frimley Park.
• Dr Louise Ross – consultant nephrologist, Frimley Park
• Dr Seema Jain – consultant nephrologist, St Helier, Epsom, Leatherhead
• Dr Matt Varrier – Consultant Nephrologist and Intensivist, St Helier
• Dr Ayesha Irtiza-Ali – Medical Education & Undergraduate Lead for Renal. Transplantation, St Helier, Crawley
• Dr Bhrigu Sood - Consultant Nephrologist, St Helier
• Dr Hannah Burton - Consultant Nephrologist, Frimley Park

As of August 2021, every patient who requires in-centre haemodialysis is eligible for free patient transport to and from their dialysis unit. Patients who are attending an outpatient appointment (renal or other) are only eligible for transport if they meet certain eligibility criteria. If you are eligible for transport, your dialysis unit will arrange this on your behalf with our transport providers.

The transport provided for a patient is subject to their mobility. The typical vehicle is an ambulance van; however, subject to vehicle availability, you may be transported in other vehicles such as ambulance cars, wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs) or private-hire taxis. If you believe the vehicle assigned to you is inappropriate for your mobility needs, please contact our transport co-ordinator (contact details at the end of section).

Typical Transport Schedule

There are eight possible sites you can have your haemodialysis treatment at with our Trust. Sites are allocated based on your geographic location to ensure you have treatment at a reasonable distance from your home.
Haemodialysis patients require treatment 3 times a week. Our Trust offers two schedules; Monday/Wednesday/Friday or Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday.
There are three possible timeslots you can be allocated to for treatment and transport collection from your address and site; morning, afternoon and twilight. Timeslots are allocated subject to site capacity, and will vary slightly between sites.

Please see the table below for a list of our sites and timeslots for collection from your address/assigned site.

Renal Patient Transport Times

UNIT	Morning (AM)	Afternoon (PM)	Twilight
Crawley	07:30 – 12:30	12:30 – 17:30	17:30 – 22:30
Croydon	07:45 – 12:45	12:45 – 17:45	17:45 – 22:30
Epsom	07:15 – 13:00	13:00 – 18:00	18:00 – 22:30
Farnborough	07:00 – 13:00	13:00 – 18:00	18:00 – 23:30
Kingston	07:00 – 12:00	12:00 – 17:00	17:00 – 22:00
Sutton	07:15 – 13:00	13:00 – 18:00	18:00 – 22:45
West Byfleet	07:30 – 12:30	12:30 – 17:30	17:30 – 22:30
St Helier	07:15 – 13:00	13:00 – 18:00	18:00 – 22:45

 

It is important to stress that although we strive to operate within these timeslots, we have a leeway of 90 minutes each way. This is due to factors such as on the day transport/driver availability, issues with patient collection/drop-off, or traffic, amongst others. This means that you should be prepared for potential pickup from your address or expected collection from your site up to 90 minutes before/after the listed time. For example, if you were allocated to the morning shift for Sutton, we would hope that you are collected from your address at around 7:15 and from the haemodialysis site 13:00. But you should be prepared for potential pickup from anytime between 5:45 – 8:45. Similarly, you should be prepared for potential collection between 11:30 – 14:30. If your transport service is consistently arriving outside of the listed timeslots (including 90 min leeway), please contact our transport coordinator (contact details at the end of section). We appreciate this time uncertainty can be challenging for patients, and have support in place for individuals who are able to travel to/from sites of their own accord or with the assistance of others. Please see section Alternative Transport Arrangements below for more details.

Please note that the shift and/or site you are allocated to are subject to change, pending logistical demands on our side. Any changes to your treatment time or location will be communicated to you for discussion before any decisions are made.

If there are certain times that would conflict with other health-related commitments in your day (e.g. you have a carer who visits at a certain time), please communicate this to us by contacting our transport co-ordinator (contact details at the end of section), and we will strive to accommodate your other commitments.

Transport Preparation

As haemodialysis treatment lasts an average of 4 hours, it is important for you to make preparations so that your time is spent as comfortably as possible.

Please ensure you bring any medication you usually take during the hours of your treatment. 

Please dress accordingly for your session. Vehicles and some sites are air-conditioned, so it is better to overdress with additional layers than underdress if you are sensitive to temperature. Please ensure you wear clothing that allows easy access to your fistula site for nursing staff.

As 4 hours can be a long time, it is worth bringing some sort of activity to pass the time. Patients bring things such as books, crossword puzzles, headphones to help pass the time. Sites usually have television sets provided free of charge for patients, but it may be worth having a backup activity if you are not interested in this or your television is not working.

COVID Restrictions

At the time of writing this document, COVID restrictions are being reduced across the UK. The reduction of social distancing in patient transport allows more patients to fit in a single vehicle. This means that you can expect a shorter wait time for pick-up/drop-off than previously, but will potentially spend longer in the vehicle as it will be making more stops for each patient. Despite social distancing being lifted, the wearing of face coverings is still currently required in transport vehicles and on haemodialysis sites by patients and staff.

If you test positive for COVID, please contact your dialysis site so that they are aware and can arrange individual transport for you via our transport co-ordinator. You will be allocated a separate area for treatment at your haemodialysis site.

Alternative Transport Arrangements

Whilst regular dialysis patients are eligible for service-arranged transport, this comes at a cost to both the service (financial) and the user (time).

Patients who travel to/from the service independently or with the assistance of a relative/friend may be eligible for compensation under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS). Patients who are not eligible for HTCS but have an annual income of < £16,000 may be eligible for compensation under the NHS Low Income Scheme (LIS).

For any queries, comments or complaints regarding transport, our Renal Transport Co-ordinator is available for contact Monday – Friday, 8am – 4:30pm.

Contact: Jo Pope, Transport Co-ordinator, 0208 296 3980 / 07775 015 070

At present, the hospital has not been switched to electronic transmission of prescriptions to community pharmacies. This means all our specialist renal hospital prescriptions need to be handwritten, checked, and signed before they are posted out. For this reason, we ask our patients to give us at least 14 days notice to minimise the risk of supplies running out.  If you have less than 14 days supply at time of requesting, you may have to request an emergency supply from your community pharmacy to prevent any doses being missed (for which you may be charged). Details of how to obtain an emergency supply can be found on this page.

Please submit a timely request via email to: esth.renalpharmacy@nhs.net

You should include:

• Patient name, 
• Date of Birth, 
• Hospital number (if known)
• Name of the medication(s) required
• Dose taken and how often.

Once a request has been actioned, the prescription will be dispatched to your home address by default. Should your address change, please let us know in your next email request. You need to request a supply each time you are running out as at present, we are not able to track, calculate and reissue prescriptions based on expected usage.

If don't have access to email or alternatively, wish to discuss an issue with one of the renal pharmacy team, then please leave a request on our answer phone in the renal pharmacy office and we will get back to you.

Telephone number: 0208 296 4718

Living with a long-term health condition like kidney disease can have an impact on an individual’s physical and mental wellbeing.

Renal social workers are qualified social workers who offer practical support and advice to individuals affected by kidney disease.

Support offered by renal social workers includes:

• Emotional adjustment to living with kidney disease
• Referrals/signposting to other relevant agencies e.g. occupational therapists, psychological services, specialist charities.
• Support to access food banks
• Support with benefits applications
• Support with housing issues
• Assistance with legal issues

Who can access the service?

• An individual with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
• Close relatives of those with CKD
• Living transplant donors

Resources

Kidney Care UK is a patient charity aimed at renal patients. Their website has a vast amount of resources concerning kidney health and support such as applying for financial grants.

Kidney Care UK Information Booklets

Kidney Care UK Diet & Exercise

NHS Living with Chronic Kidney Disease

The Citizens Advice Bureau is a charitable organisation which provides confidential support to anyone in the UK. Areas of support include legal, debt and housing amongst others. Support is available to patients and their relatives throughout their patient journey.

Contact

Renal Social Support Team: 0208 2962940

Meheret Moyo
Senior Renal Social Worker
meheret.moyo@nhs.net

Sian Bradley
Renal Social Worker
sian.bradley2@nhs.net

For many of our patients, the care that they receive with our renal teams will be long term and in some cases, life-long. We want our patients to feel empowered about their condition, and feel that they can take control of their care and wellbeing.

We run an ‘expert patients’ programme that aims to support people in increasing their confidence, improving their quality of life and better managing their condition.

For more information about this programme, known as Self Management UK, please visit their website.

Renal PatientView

Renal PatientView provides secure online information about renal patients' hospital records, such as diagnosis, treatment and your latest test results. This enables you to access this information at anytime and anywhere in the world, giving you complete control over who can see this information.

PatientView is only available from some UK renal units, including the one at St Helier Hospital. If you would like to gain access to this valuable resource, please speak with your haemodialysis nurse or renal doctor who will be able to put you in contact with the St Helier IT team.

If you would like to find out more about the work of the Renal PatientView team or see a demonstration of the PatientView system, please visit their website.

We also actively encourage patients to access their own results online using Renal PatientView.

The St Helier and Surrey Kidney Patients Association is run by kidney patients, their families, friends and carers.

As well as providing valuable support and information to people with renal failure, they raise public awareness about renal issues, support national renal organisations, and work closely with hospital staff and management to improve conditions for patients with chronic kidney disease. 

Through fundraising activity, they are able to:

• purchase medical and non-medical equipment for the renal unit
• provide financial assistance to our members.

If you would like more information about the association, either as a patient or potential volunteer, please visit the St Helier and Surrey Kidney Patients Association Website (opens in a new window).

You may also want to find out more about the South West Thames Kidney Fund (opens in a new window) and the South West Thames Institute for Renal Research (opens in a new window).

This page contains a collection of links to related websites our patients might find useful.

• British Kidney Patient Association (opens in a new window) 
• British Renal Society (opens in a new window) 
• British Transplantation Society (opens in a new window) 
• Department of Health (opens in a new window)
• National Service Framework (opens in a new window) (Renal) 
• Renal Patient Knows Best (opens in a new window)
• St Helier and Surrey Association of Kidney Patients (opens in a new window)
• Self Management UK (opens in a new window) 
• The Renal Association (opens in a new window)
• UK National Kidney Federation (opens in a new window)
• Kidney Fund (opens in a new window)
• Kidney BEAM (opens in a new window)

If you have any general queries please contact our team:

• via email est-tr.renalpod@nhs.net
• via telephone 020 8296 2283