The Association of Nephrology Nurses UK (ANN UK) has officially become a professional group of the UK Kidney Association, effective from 7 September 2026.
The move brings ANN UK and the UKKA together within one professional association, creating a stronger, more connected multiprofessional community and ensuring nursing has a clear and influential voice within it.
ANN UK joins an established community of UKKA professional groups representing different professions, specialties and career stages across kidney care, including the UK Renal Pharmacy Group, British Association for Paediatric Nephrology, Paediatric Nephrology Nurses Group, Kidney Psychological Therapists, and UK Specialty Renal Trainees.
Together, these groups connect healthcare professionals from across the kidney workforce, creating opportunities to share expertise, work across professional boundaries and contribute collectively to the issues shaping kidney care. Bringing ANN UK into this community strengthens nursing representation and creates closer connections between nephrology nurses and colleagues across the wider kidney workforce.
ANN UK will retain its identity and nursing focus as a professional group within the UKKA, building on the community and activity it has established since its formation.
Dr Sarah Brand, ANN UK President and Executive Committee Chair, said:
“I am really proud to be part of such a multi-disciplinary kidney community and am committed to the nursing voice being strong within that. I firmly believe that working collaboratively across professional groups is the best way to ensure that nursing contributes to and influences key conversations within kidney care. I also believe that the UKKA is the vehicle through which that aspiration can become a reality.”
Dr Katie Vinen and Lisa Ancliffe, UKKA Presidents, said:
“ANN UK joining the UKKA strengthens the whole Association. Kidney care depends on professionals with different expertise working together, and our professional groups are an important part of bringing those perspectives together. Welcoming ANN UK into that community gives nephrology nurses a stronger platform to connect, contribute and influence what we do collectively.”
This formal agreement marks the beginning of the next phase of our work together. Over the coming months, ANN UK membership, systems and other practical elements will move across to the UKKA, with further information shared with members throughout the transition.
As ANN UK becomes part of the Association, we look forward to building stronger connections across our professional groups and creating more opportunities for the kidney workforce to learn from one another, collaborate and shape the future of kidney care together.