Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether kidney disease is included in the Government’s initiative on reducing health inequalities, Core20PLUS5.

One of the priority clinical areas for NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Core20PLUS5 approach is hypertension case finding. More than half of those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have hypertension. Case-finding hypertension and optimising blood pressure are essential in the effective regulation of CKD. Both undiagnosed hypertension and CKD are more prevalent among ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas, which are included in the CORE and PLUS elements of the initiative.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme is facilitating co-ordination between regions to reduce variation and prevent any widening of health inequalities. This includes all clinical areas including kidney disease.