A national survey of current rehabilitation service provisions for people living with chronic kidney disease in the UK: Implications for policy and practice
Background: National guidance recognises the key role of rehabilitation in improving outcomes for people living with chronic kidney disease. Implementation of this guidance is reliant upon an adequate and skilled rehabilitation workforce. Data relating to this is currently lacking within the UK. T...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
BioMed Central
2024
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/95882 |
| _version_ | 1848766054832013312 |
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| author | Ancliffe, L. Castle, Ellen Wilkinson, T.J. Young, H. M. L. |
| author_facet | Ancliffe, L. Castle, Ellen Wilkinson, T.J. Young, H. M. L. |
| author_sort | Ancliffe, L. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: National guidance recognises the key role of rehabilitation in improving outcomes for people living
with chronic kidney disease. Implementation of this guidance is reliant upon an adequate and skilled rehabilitation
workforce. Data relating to this is currently lacking within the UK. This survey aimed to identify variations and good
practices in kidney physiotherapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT) and clinical exercise physiologist (CEP) provision;
and to understand barriers to implementation.
Methods: An online survey was sent to all 87 UK kidney units between June 2022 and January 2023. Data was
collected on the provision of therapy services, barriers to service provision and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The quantitative survey was analysed using descriptive statistics. Free-text responses were explored using reflexive
thematic analysis.
Results: Forty-five units (52%) responded. Seventeen (38%) units reported having a PT and 15 (33%) an OT with a
specialist kidney role; one unit (7%) had access to a CEP. Thirty units (67%) offered inpatient therapy services, ten
(22%) outpatient therapy clinics, six (13%) intradialytic exercise, six (13%) symptom management and three (7%)
outpatient rehabilitation. Qualitative data revealed lack of money/funding and time (both n = 35, 85% and n = 34,
83% respectively) were the main barriers to delivering kidney-specific therapy. Responders saw an increase in the
complexity of their caseload, a reduction in staffing levels and consequently, service provision during the COVID-19
pandemic. Exemplars of innovative service delivery, including hybrid digital and remote services, were viewed as
positive responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion: Despite clear evidence of the benefits of rehabilitation, across the UK, there remains limited and variable
access to kidney-specific therapy services. Equitable access to kidney-specific rehabilitation services is urgently
required to support people to ‘live well’ with kidney disease. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:45:03Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-95882 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:45:03Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | BioMed Central |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-958822024-10-25T05:40:58Z A national survey of current rehabilitation service provisions for people living with chronic kidney disease in the UK: Implications for policy and practice Ancliffe, L. Castle, Ellen Wilkinson, T.J. Young, H. M. L. Background: National guidance recognises the key role of rehabilitation in improving outcomes for people living with chronic kidney disease. Implementation of this guidance is reliant upon an adequate and skilled rehabilitation workforce. Data relating to this is currently lacking within the UK. This survey aimed to identify variations and good practices in kidney physiotherapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT) and clinical exercise physiologist (CEP) provision; and to understand barriers to implementation. Methods: An online survey was sent to all 87 UK kidney units between June 2022 and January 2023. Data was collected on the provision of therapy services, barriers to service provision and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The quantitative survey was analysed using descriptive statistics. Free-text responses were explored using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Forty-five units (52%) responded. Seventeen (38%) units reported having a PT and 15 (33%) an OT with a specialist kidney role; one unit (7%) had access to a CEP. Thirty units (67%) offered inpatient therapy services, ten (22%) outpatient therapy clinics, six (13%) intradialytic exercise, six (13%) symptom management and three (7%) outpatient rehabilitation. Qualitative data revealed lack of money/funding and time (both n = 35, 85% and n = 34, 83% respectively) were the main barriers to delivering kidney-specific therapy. Responders saw an increase in the complexity of their caseload, a reduction in staffing levels and consequently, service provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. Exemplars of innovative service delivery, including hybrid digital and remote services, were viewed as positive responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Despite clear evidence of the benefits of rehabilitation, across the UK, there remains limited and variable access to kidney-specific therapy services. Equitable access to kidney-specific rehabilitation services is urgently required to support people to ‘live well’ with kidney disease. 2024 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/95882 10.1186/s12882-024-03742-4 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ BioMed Central fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Ancliffe, L. Castle, Ellen Wilkinson, T.J. Young, H. M. L. A national survey of current rehabilitation service provisions for people living with chronic kidney disease in the UK: Implications for policy and practice |
| title | A national survey of current rehabilitation service provisions for people living with chronic kidney disease in the UK: Implications for policy and practice |
| title_full | A national survey of current rehabilitation service provisions for people living with chronic kidney disease in the UK: Implications for policy and practice |
| title_fullStr | A national survey of current rehabilitation service provisions for people living with chronic kidney disease in the UK: Implications for policy and practice |
| title_full_unstemmed | A national survey of current rehabilitation service provisions for people living with chronic kidney disease in the UK: Implications for policy and practice |
| title_short | A national survey of current rehabilitation service provisions for people living with chronic kidney disease in the UK: Implications for policy and practice |
| title_sort | national survey of current rehabilitation service provisions for people living with chronic kidney disease in the uk: implications for policy and practice |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/95882 |