Each year we have two rounds of grants for hospitals where we fund care and service improvements across the country. Our Hospital Grants fund a wide range of patient projects, pieces of equipment, renal unit infrastructure, and staff posts such as renal social workers, physiotherapists, renal counsellors and youth workers. Find out more on our Hospital Grants page.
The following are the major grants we awarded across the whole of 2018.
Hospital Grants: May 2018
Post: Renal Supportive Care Nurse (Part time, 3 years)
Crosshouse, University Hospital, Kilmarnock
- To maintain & develop the Renal Supportive Care progaramme in Ayrshire and Arran.
- To develop end of life care plan & compassionate rapid discharge.
- To introduce Anticipatory Care Planning and maintain Treatment Escalation Plans.
70-80 patients to benefit annually.
Post: Health Nurse (Part-time, 2 years)
Kings College Hospital
To coordinate integrated multidisciplinary care with severe mental illness and Chronic Kidney Disease.
- To facilitate renal -psychiatric training for renal & psychiatry health care professionals.
- To demonstrate improvements in patient’s physical & mental health, patient & staff experience, reducing expenditure on health care resources to secure NHS future funding.
Over 100 patients to benefit annually.
Post: Two Patient Centered Care Nurses (Full time, 3 years)
Northern Ireland Altnagelvin Hospital
Two posts, one for each of the 2 Renal Units (Altnagelvin & Omagh)
- To partner patients in increasing awareness of Healthcare needs and literacy by embedding principles of Shared Care.
- Coaching staff in change management - Shared Care Concepts.
- Advocacy for patient choice.
- It will become the first Unit in NI which will be integrating patient measures as part of its data set & capturing patient experience in the entirety of the renal journey.
100 patients to benefit annually.
Project: Patient Experience - Routine Patient Measures
University of Hertfordshire
- To look at the feasibility of routinely collecting patient measures.
- To learn from Think Kidneys quality improvement programme.
- Interview up to 24 patients across various cases, to learn how best to use patient reported data into routine clinical care.
Read more about the 2018 Kidney PREM
Hospital Grants: November 2018
Post: Home Haemodialysis / Shared Care Assistant (3 years)
James Cook University Hospital
- The Post (Assistant Practitioner) is to support the home haemodialysis Nurse Specialist and the shared care initiative in the Renal Unit.
- The post holder will assist in the management and training of patients and carers who wish to embark on the home haemodialysis programme with emphasis on infection control, patient safety and vascular access and to increase patient numbers at home or self-caring.
- One full time Nurse Specialist has led the home haemodialysis service and it is hoped to now increase patient numbers by taking on an Assistant Practitioner (AP) and to also focus on the skills APs offer.
Project: PEEER (Patient Empowerment, Esteem, Employability & Resilience) (3 years)
Southampton Children's Hospital
The project aims to improve children’s and young people’s (CYP) self-esteem and confidence, empower them, encourage independence and build their life skills and resilience by attaining nationally approved qualifications. It is a 3 year programme in which 2 staff members will be trained to run the PEEER programme. To encourage 40 CYP to take part in gaining the Bronze Award across the age groups 13-17yrs and 18-25yrs from Southampton Children’s Hospital, Queen Alexander Hospital & Southampton General Hospital. The grant will also cover the expenses for the DofE coordinators to prepare the CYP for the expedition and also cover the Activity costs for the CYP.
Post: Renal Arts Group Coordinator (Part-time, 1 year)
Queen's University Belfast
The Renal Arts Group in Northern Ireland has been set up to highlight the consequences of living with kidney disease through the medium of art. Currently it is sustained voluntarily by healthcare staff, academics, renal patients and their carers. This funding is being requested to pay for a part-time coordinator to help plan and manage future public health activities. The post holder will develop research and education specific goals and to secure additional funding to support future posts in this area to ensure long term sustainability.
This proposal has the potential to benefit patients across the five renal centres in Northern Ireland.
Find out more about the Renal Arts Group