Public lecture on kidney dialysis
The challenges facing dialysis patients and the health professionals who treat them is the subject of a public lecture at the University of Leicester on Tuesday 11 February.
Professor James Burton, Senior Lecturer in our Department of Respiratory Sciences, will speak on the topic of ‘Do as I say and not as I would do: The dialysis care conundrum.’
Kidney dialysis is a lifesaving treatment for people with kidney failure but despite its benefits, the physical and psychological burden for those on dialysis can be significant. The intrusive nature of symptoms can have a dramatic effect on people’s quality of life and the disproportionately high level of cardiovascular disease ultimately means that life expectancy is shortened.
Around 24,000 patients currently receive regular haemodialysis at a hospital or in a satellite clinic in the UK and most have a set dialysis appointment time lasting for four hours, three times per week, with travel time in addition. Although more individualised dialysis care is likely to have wide-ranging benefits for patients, the hard fact is that medical teams struggle to offer more flexible schedules. The same is true for additional therapies like exercise rehabilitation; the time and resources (and sometimes the evidence) required to offer these services for people with kidney failure is often just not there.
This talk will explore the conundrum that exists for patients regarding the dialysis treatments that are on offer versus the therapy they might choose for themselves.
After a degree in modern languages, James Burton studied medicine here at the University of Leicester, graduating with Honours in 2001. Since 2012 he has been working as an Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at Leicester General Hospital with a special interest in haemodialysis. In 2013, James was awarded a Clinician Scientist Fellowship from the National Institute of Health Research and he continues to undertake research focused on improving cardiovascular and quality of life outcomes for people with kidney failure. James is a member of the UK Renal Association Clinical Guidelines Committee, Co-chair of a UK Kidney Research Consortium Clinical Study Group and a member of the UK Renal Trials Network.
The talk, which is free and open to all, takes place in the Henry Welcome Building on Lancaster Road on Tuesday 11 February, between 5.30pm and 6.30pm. Places can be booked via Eventbrite.