First kidney app helps young patients take control

Kidney patients and hospital staff have created an app for young adult kidney patients to help them take control and manage their condition.

‘My Kidney Care' app has been produced by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Kidney Patient's Association, clinicians from the Evelina Children’s Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ adult kidney service and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The app has been designed to be both a hand held kidney care record and a self management tool, allowing young adults to maintain accurate and accessible kidney care records, including their appointments and medication.

Katie Gill, aged 17, who has been a patient at the Evelina since she was 14 years old, said: “This app will be really handy. I’m busy job-hunting now and it will help me keep track of appointments and my medication conveniently.”

Features of the app include:

• Prompts for patients to take their medication
• Prompts for patients to renew prescriptions
• Reminders about  appointments
• Patients can also make notes of talking points, concerns and questions about their health in preparation for their appointments
• Information which signposts patients to further kidney care information

The app was developed in response to NHS Kidney Care 'Supporting Young Adults' patient survey report which was published last year. The project involved patients responding to a survey to help identify their needs and how they would like to engage with their health care providers.

Trevor Cook, Chair of the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Kidney Patients Association said: “In the three years that I have chaired the Association, we have provided services to all kidney patients, which enable them to build on the world class clinical care provided at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and to return to as near normal life as possible.  One key to this process is having good quality, modern communication tools – this app is the latest and the most important initiative so far”.

Clare Nottage, young person’s kidney nurse at the Trust said: “This tool will support young kidney patients to manage their transition journey from children’s to adult services. It will provide them with the information; education and support they need to manage their health and social care and function as independent people in the adult world. “

The app is available for all android smartphones and is free to download from www.gsttkpa.org and play.com for android apps.  

Note to editors:

Contact: Michele Harris, communications manager,  Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust tel: 020 7188 5577 or email: [email protected]. Out of hours, please call our pager bureau on 0844 822 2888, ask for pager number 847704 and give the pager operator your message.

Guy's and St Thomas' provides a million patient contacts in acute and specialist hospital services every year. As one of the biggest NHS Trusts in the UK, with an annual turnover of around £1 billion, we employ almost 12,000 staff. The Trust works in partnership with the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Biomedical Sciences of King's College London and other Higher Education Institutes to deliver high quality education and research. Website: www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ is part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King’s College London, and Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.

King’s Health Partners is one of only five AHSCs in the UK and brings together an unrivalled range and depth of clinical and research expertise, spanning both physical and mental health. Our combined strengths will drive improvements in care for patients, allowing them to benefit from breakthroughs in medical science and receive leading edge treatment at the earliest possible opportunity.

For more information, visit www.kingshealthpartners.org.