National Grid boosts support for kidney patients

National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) will help provide support to more than 60,000 people living with chronic kidney disease via a new partnership with Kidney Care UK.

The initiative will see patients across Birmingham and Lincolnshire provided with fuel poverty support and energy efficiency advice, as well as help with signing up to NGED’s Priority Services Register (PSR).

Kidney Care UK’s services include free counselling, patient advocacy support, hardship grants, holiday grants, hospital grants, and white goods grants. The charity also provides benefit application support as well as income maximisation and money and energy advice.

The charity will provide bespoke training for National Grid field and contact centre teams who support customers during power cuts, ensuring they can best understand and support the needs of kidney patients.

Nicki Johnson, of National Grid Electricity Distribution, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with Kidney Care UK. This partnership will enable us to reach more patients with kidney disease so they can benefit from our Priority Services Register and the additional free support this provides for people with extra needs.”

Laurie Cuthbert, director of fundraising, marketing and communications at Kidney Care UK, said: “This is an exciting relationship to transform the support that our kidney community will receive.

“We are pleased to be working in partnership to help support more than 60,000 people living with chronic kidney disease to enable them to receive support appropriate to their condition.”

Concerns were raised at last year’s Utility Week Customer Summit in Birmingham that people with chronic kidney disease are increasingly being sent home to continue dialysis care, leaving them with energy bills four times higher than average.

Speaking at the event Sarah Oldman, head of affordability & vulnerability at Eon Next, revealed her company had partnered with Kidney Care UK to understand more about the challenges facing those choosing to have treatment at home.