Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the renal nursing workforce in England; and what steps they are taking to address workforce shortages and ensure that nursing capacity is not a barrier to patients accessing dialysis, including home dialysis where appropriate.

The Government has not undertaken a specific assessment of the renal nursing workforce as a distinct professional group. Workforce considerations for specialist areas, including renal services, will be considered as part of the wider assessment of current and future workforce demand and supply through the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan.

The updated Renal Service Specification is progressing through NHS England’s governance and approval processes and will be published in due course.

The Renal Services Transformation Programme sets out high-impact changes which includes earlier identification and management of chronic kidney disease, increasing home dialysis towards the Getting It Right First Time ambition of 20%, and improving access to pre-emptive transplantation. Kidney networks are working with commissioners and providers to implement these changes and increase provision across their populations.

The Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework reinforces the importance of identifying and managing kidney disease at an earlier stage as part of reducing cardiovascular risk and premature mortality.