**This World Kidney Day (13 March 2025), Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) has announced a new initiative aimed at detecting, diagnosing and treating chronic kidney disease (CKD) faster.**
The SPOT CKD (screening, prevention, outreach and treatment for health equity) initiative will seek to reduce health inequalities by improving early diagnosis and providing proactive care to slow the progression of CKD in underserved communities.
It will run concurrently through collaborative working projects between BI with NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria working with North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
Approximately 10% of the UK population is affected by CKD, a progressive condition caused by decreased kidney function. Timely and appropriate treatment can slow disease progression and prevent life-limiting complications. However, the disease is asymptomatic in its initial stages, highlighting the importance of early detection through routine GP screening.
Research by Kidney Research UK has shown that people from lower socio-economic groups are at a higher risk of developing CKD, and individuals from Black, Asian and minority ethnic populations are more likely to progress faster towards kidney failure.
SPOT CKD will support those at a higher risk of the disease and communities where accessing the right care can be more challenging due to socio-economic disparities and limited resources, and ensure that future services are sustainable.
In North East and North Cumbria, the programme will use locally developed technology to identify at-risk patients and will encourage them to attend their GP practice for blood and urine screening tests; provide clinical pharmacists and technicians with support in identifying at-risk patients; and help multi-disciplinary teams of GPs, pharmacy technicians and consultants to provide guidance for patients.
Meanwhile, the initiative in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will aim to improve awareness of CKD among at-risk populations; increase opportunities for case-finding and associated management of the disease; ensure equitable access to evidence-based care; and develop and enhance the skills of NHS workforces.
Vani Manja, country managing director and head of human pharma at BI UK and Ireland said: “The SPOT CKD programme and the establishment of these collaborative working projects marks an important step in enabling better healthcare access and improving outcomes for those in underserved communities across these regions of England.
“This is part of a globally important initiative aligned with our focus on addressing health equity.”
World Kidney Day is a global campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of our kidneys, and reducing the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its associated health problems.