Delivering specialist kidney care at scale in partnership with primary care
In the UK, over 3m people live with the most severe stages of kidney disease and this is rising rapidly. People with kidney disease face increased risk of heart attack or stroke. The total annual economic burden of kidney disease in the UK is £7.0 billion, with £6.4 billion being direct costs to the NHS – about 3.2% of NHS budgets. (ref: Kidney Research UK Health Economics Report)
The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Chronic Kidney Disease Integrated Care Delivery Programme (LUCID) improves patient outcomes through early detection of CKD, early intervention and optimisation, while maximising productivity and value for money.
By integrating management of chronic kidney disease (CKD), it bridges the gap between GP practices and hospital care. It has four main principles:
- LUCID multi-disciplinary team meetings (MDTs) of hospital and GP practice staff.
- Searching patient records to identify people at risk.
- Clinician upskilling and patient education / self-management.
- Ongoing, co-ordinated support for patients.
Since 2023 LUCID has been part funded by AstraZeneca UK as part of a Joint Working Agreement with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL).
Based on the success of the local programme, the Health Innovation Network is Launching the ‘LUCID - Connecting Kidney Care’ programme led by Health Innovation East Midlands, from 2026. The programme is being rolled out throughout every NHS region in England, via the 15 local Health Innovation Networks.
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“This helps identify patients with kidney problems early, prevents presentations in emergency departments, supports the primary care team to support patients in primary care and links to other long term conditions such as diabetes and cardiac. It represents value for money.”
