Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to clinical commissioning groups and local authorities on developing appropriate services to identify kidney disease among people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

The NHS Health Check programme, which launched in 2008, is a universal and systematic programme for everyone between the ages of 40-74 years (not already on a chronic disease register) that assesses people’s risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes. It is estimated that the programme could detect at least 20,000 cases of diabetes or kidney disease earlier, allowing individuals to be better managed and to improve their quality of life.

Economic modelling suggested that the NHS Health Check programme would be cost effective and it is is estimated that savings to the National Health Service budget nationally would be around £57 million per year after four years, rising to £176 million per year after a 15 year period.

Black and south Asian people are three to five times more likely to have kidney failure than white people, but many are unaware of the condition. Local authorities, which are responsible for roll-out of the health check in their respective areas, can choose to target high-risk groups to encourage participation in the NHS Health Check programme, if appropriate. Guidance and tools for commissioners, clinicians and local authorities on the programme, including case study examples on its application in specific communities, can be found at the following link:

www.healthcheck.nhs.uk

In addition to this, the NHS Choices Website contains detailed information on both black and Asian health issues which includes a page on the increased risk these ethnic groups have of developing kidney disease. The page can be viewed at the following link:

www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Kidneyhealth/Pages/BlackandAsiankidneyhealth.aspx

Finally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance Chronic kidney disease: early identification and management of chronic kidney disease in adults in primary and secondary care sets out best practice for clinicians on early diagnosis and care of patients with the condition. The guidance was updated in July 2014.