Join us on Tuesday 11 February 2020 as Professor James Burton gives his inaugural lecture entitled: ‘Do as I say and not as I would do: The dialysis care conundrum'

His lecture addresses the failure to put the patients at the centre of care, instead making them fit around what can be offered.

This lecture will take place at 5.30pm in the Frank and Katherine May Lecture Theatre, Henry Wellcome Building.

Synopsis

Kidney dialysis is a lifesaving treatment for people with kidney failure but despite its benefits, the physical and psychological burden for those on dialysis can be significant. The intrusive nature of symptoms can have a dramatic effect on people’s quality of life and the disproportionately high level of cardiovascular disease ultimately means that life expectancy is shortened.

Around 24,000 patients currently receive regular haemodialysis at a hospital or in a satellite clinic in the UK and most have a set dialysis appointment time lasting for 4 hours, 3 times per week, with travel time in addition. Although more individualised dialysis care is likely to have wide ranging benefits for patients, the hard fact is that medical teams struggle to offer more flexible schedules. The same is true for additional therapies like exercise rehabilitation; the time and resources (and sometimes the evidence) required to offer these services for people with kidney failure is often just not there.

This talk will explore the conundrum that exists for patients regarding the dialysis treatments that are on offer versus the therapy they might choose for themselves.

Bio

After a degree in modern languages, James studied medicine here at the University of Leicester, graduating with Honours in 2001. As with most junior doctors, James spent some time training outside Leicester but returned as a Clinical Lecturer having completed his doctorate in medicine in 2008. Since 2012 he has been working as an Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at the Leicester General Hospital with a special interest in haemodialysis. In 2013, James was awarded a Clinician Scientist Fellowship from the National Institute of Health Research and he continues to undertake research focused on improving cardiovascular and quality of life outcomes for people with kidney failure.

James is also a member of the UK Renal Association Clinical Guidelines Committee; he chaired the recent UK guideline update into the management of CKD associated Mineral Bone Disease as well as contributing to the UK Haemodialysis guidelines. In addition, he Co-chairs one of the UK Kidney Research Consortium Clinical Study Groups and is a member of the UK Renal Trials Network.

To date, his research into cardiac injury and lifestyle modifications has informed national and international guidelines and his clinical work with dialysis patients has been shortlisted for two NHS Innovation awards. His research portfolio includes mechanisms behind the development of uraemic cardiovascular disease through to interventional clinical trials to improve patient outcomes.