Introducing the For Kidneys Sake: a North West London Kidney Care podcast

This podcast is brought to you by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and North West London Integrated Care Board (NWL NHS)

Introducing For Kidneys' Sake podcast, a new series hosted by Consultant Nephrologists at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Mr Andrew Frankel and Prof Jeremy Levy. 

In this trailer, clinical lead nurse Joana Teles, local GP, and ICB clinical lead for cardiovascular and renal disease Kuldir Johal discuss why this podcast has been created. The series is designed to bring healthcare professionals, especially those in primary care, the latest updates and insights into kidney health management.

Over the years, the North West London Kidney Care team, consisting of nephrologists, kidney nurse specialists, and GPs, has worked closely to improve the integration of kidney care across primary and secondary services. Now, with this podcast, the aim is to share the knowledge and experience we've gathered to support clinicians in their everyday practice.

Each episode features concise, 15-minute discussions on important topics such as the diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD), hyperkalaemia, heart failure, and practical tips for applying local CKD guidelines. The series also highlights innovative services like the Kidney Virtual Clinic and recent improvements in funding and awareness for kidney health.

Whether you’re catching up on your commute, during a coffee break, or while out for a walk, the North West London Kidney Care podcast is a convenient way to stay informed. With contributions from experts like Prof Jeremy Levy and Prof Andrew Frankel, along with special guest appearances, each episode is packed with valuable insights to help you better manage kidney health for your patients.

We hope you enjoy listening.

Resource Links:
NICE GUIDELINES [NG203] chronic kidney disease: assessment and management Overview | Chronic kidney disease: assessment and management | Guidance | NICE

Northwest London CKD guidelines for primary care Chronic kidney disease (nwlondonicb.nhs.uk)

The purpose of this podcast is to inform and educate health care professionals working in the primary care and community setting. The content is evidence based and consistent with NICE guidelines and North West Guidelines available at the time of publication.

The content of this podcast does not constitute medical advice and it is not intended to function as a substitute for a healthcare practitioner’s judgement.

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Produced by award-winning media and marketing specialist Heather Pownall of Heather's Media Hub 

Transcript

Prof Andrew Frankel  00:07

You need to ensure that the person understands what they need to do in relation to their diet, their exercise, smoking and weight loss, all the things you would do in an individual who's got, say, diabetes or cardiovascular disease, it's exactly the same for CKD. We

Joana Teles  00:23

are focusing more and more on kidney health rather than kidney disease, especially as we screen and as we start embedding kidney health checks as part of discussing risk of kidney disease. So we're really promoting the language of kidney health.

Prof Jeremy Levy  00:37

People with chronic kidney disease need, sadly, two or three medicines to lower their blood pressure. It's pretty rare to get away with just one, even with excellent lifestyle changes, etc.

Prof Andrew Frankel  00:51

The other thing, of course, to bear in mind is that these drugs are diabetes drugs, as well as being Cardiorenal protective drugs, and you can see hypoglycemia only when you use these drugs with other drugs that cause hypos, such as insulin or sulfonylureas.

Prof Jeremy Levy 01:07

And there's this myth around that bananas are particularly high in potassium. Actually, for example, avocados, cabbage, potatoes, salmon, beans, they've all got more potassium per 100 grams than bananas do. So bananas are not the problem.

Joana Teles  01:30

Hello. I'm Joanna TELUS, a kidney art specialist working at Imperial College healthcare. And

Dr Kuldhir Johal  01:36

I am Kuldhir Johal, GP, working locally in North West London. I'm also the ICB clinical lead for Cardiovascular and Renal Disease.

Joana Teles  01:43

It is a pleasure to be introducing you to our podcast series, North West London Kidney Care. So what is this all about? Why a podcast now? Well over the years, the North West London Kidney Care team, which is formed by nephrologists, kidney nurse specialists and GPS, we've been working together towards a better integration of kidney care across primary and secondary care. So Kuldhir, is it fair to say that we're going through a prime season for kidney care? Absolutely,

Dr Kuldhir Johal  02:10

we've already witnessed a number of transformations over the years, such as the launch of the kidney virtual clinic, which is a perfect example of integrated services, as well as developing searches and clinical templates fully supported by educational strategy to upskill our primary care colleagues. But it's not just the GPS, it's also the nurses and clinical pharmacists. We have to celebrate the fact that even more recently, we're absolutely becoming most effective, having seen CKD absolutely recognised and being increasingly funded to recognise the time and effort you put in.

Joana Teles  02:43

I completely agree, and to me, what makes this quite unique is that we've managed to maintain the relationship over the years, surviving job rotations and funding challenges, which is not always easy, being able to meet regularly with primary care colleagues like yourself and to understand the actual challenges and develop solutions together, has been, so far one of the highlights of my career. You mentioned an educational strategy, which I'm currently the lead. As you know, we already have various initiatives from monthly newsletters and webinars. We did our first North West London Integrated Kidney Care Workshop last year, which was a success, and we're about to repeat this year. So now we have a podcast. So caldir, can you tell our listeners why and how is this relevant to primary care clinicians?

Dr Kuldhir Johal  03:27

To me, it will actually allow colleagues to hear and learn about some of the key updates around kidney health and how to manage some everyday queries with further confidence, all in a bite sized session.

Joana Teles  03:39

And particularly, who in primary care do you think would benefit the most? And realistically, primary care clinicians are already so busy, how are they going to find the time to listen?

Dr Kuldhir Johal  03:49

I think that all healthcare professionals with an interest on how they can manage kidney health will find it fully supports their knowledge, as well as being completely linked in with the North West London Chronic Kidney Disease guidelines, which was recently released. Equally in our recent meetings, we've collectively continued to increase awareness. And as mentioned with each podcast, we've been just around 15 minutes, or just less, you can actually listen to it on your way to work or during a lunch break, or even whilst you're out for a

Joana Teles  04:19

walk. That's right, and we've both had the privilege of being part of the team who's shaped the content of the podcast, which means we've heard some of the upcoming episodes so far. Do you have a favorite episode? And if so, why? And what other topics are you excited to hear about? Well, there's

Dr Kuldhir Johal  04:36

a range of topics covering hyperkalaemia, heart failure, even the diagnosis and management, and yes, even coding in relation to kidney health as well as the local services and being made aware of how to access them for both you and the patients, they are all excellent. So do listen and judge for yourself.

Joana Teles  04:53

And what would you say to people listening to us right now?

Dr Kuldhir Johal 04:57

It's a great way of refreshing your knowledge over a cup of tea or coffee, or even while you are out driving listening to the podcast. We are really trying to move mindsets away from thinking of kidney disease, but to moving it towards kidney health, and by increasing early awareness with key tips of what to do to empower yourselves, as well as your patients, identifying the various stages of kidney health early, and the use of the guidance early accordingly will absolutely benefit our patients. Thank

Joana Teles  05:26

you. I'm really looking forward for the episodes to be released, and I hope you enjoyed the quick and informal chats about kidney health between our hosts, Professor Jeremy Levy and Dr Andrew Frankel, and then occasions, we'll also have special guests invited. Thank you very much.

05:43

Thank you, Joana,

05:44

Thank you for listening. All information is fully consistent with nice and northwest London guidelines. You can find out more in the show notes and contact us with any suggestions or questions, send us a text using the text function at the top of your show notes. Don't miss our first episode about hyperkalemia. No one wants to deal with a raised potassium on a Friday evening. But how severe is a potassium of six and how quickly do we need to act? Should we recommend strict diets? What about medication? When should we consider stopping Rasi agents? Or when should we instead consider adding potassium binders? Thank you for listening. Please subscribe to the show and we will see you next time you.