Enhanced Supportive Kidney Care (ESKC) Special Interest Group (SIG)

Introduction & Vision

The Enhanced Supportive Kidney Care (ESKC) Special Interest Group brings together clinicians, researchers, nurses, allied health professionals and patient partners who are committed to integrating supportive care principles across all stages of kidney disease.

Our vision is to ensure that every person with advanced kidney disease receives individualised, compassionate, and holistic care, aligned with their goals, values and quality of life. We focus on embedding supportive kidney care within standard nephrology practice - supporting timely identification of needs, shared decision-making, symptom management and proactive advance care planning.

Mission & Objectives

The ESKC SIG works collaboratively to:

  1. Embed supportive care approaches into everyday kidney practice across the UK, ensuring they are available to all patients regardless of treatment pathway.
  2. Develop and share best practice frameworks that promote early identification of supportive care needs in pre-dialysis, dialysis and conservative kidney management pathways.
  3. Foster collaboration and innovation in service delivery, quality improvement, education and research related to supportive kidney care.
  4. Promote equity and inclusivity, ensuring that supportive care is accessible and culturally appropriate for all communities.
  5. Provide education and resources for professionals to enhance communication, symptom control and shared decision-making skills.
  6. Build partnerships with national and international kidney and palliative care organisations to align standards, guidance and training.

Key Activities

The ESKC SIG:

  • Facilitates knowledge sharing across the UK through webinars, workshops, and symposia focused on clinical practice, education and research.
  • Develops practical tools and guidance to support the integration of supportive care within kidney services, including symptom assessment frameworks, communication resources and conservative kidney management pathways.
  • Working with the Renal Networks in England to build a national community of practice, linking centres that have developed supportive care models with those seeking to implement or expand services.
  • Encourages multi-centre, multi-professional research and quality improvement, including evaluations of supportive care interventions and patient outcomes.
  • Collaborates with partner organisations such as kidney patient charities, Marie Curie, and palliative care networks to improve patient and carer support.
  • Showcases innovations through UKKA meetings and publications, helping to disseminate learning and inspire wider adoption. 

Impact & Measurement

The SIG evaluates its impact through:

  • The number of units implementing or expanding supportive kidney care services.
  • Uptake of symptom assessment tools and advance care planning practices.
  • Increased multi-professional engagement with supportive care training and webinars.
  • National audit participation and improvements in patient experience measures.
  • Growth of collaborative projects, publications, and external partnerships.

Current Projects: Task and finish groups

  • Symptom management guideline focusing on fatigue, itch, pain and GI symptoms. Collaboration with KDIGO on joint workshop for 2026
  • Establishing metrics to measure outcomes in supportive kidney care, working towards UKKR data collection
  • Frailty guideline in stages 4/5 CKD

Collaboration

The ESKC SIG collaborates closely with other UKKA Special Interest Groups to ensure alignment across the continuum of kidney care. It also works with the UK Renal Registry, renal networks, NHS England, and academic partners to promote equitable, high-quality supportive care provision.

Membership & Involvement

Membership is open to all UKKA members and affiliates who are interested in enhanced supportive kidney care.
We welcome clinicians, nurses, allied health professionals, researchers, trainees, commissioners and patient representatives.

To join or collaborate with the ESKC SIG, please contact the Secretariat.

You can also follow our activities and upcoming events through the UKKA website and newsletters.