The Salford Renal Centre in NCA is one of the major sites in the UK for renal care and research, with a catchment population of 1.55 million and more than 7,000 chronic kidney disease patients (CKD) under active follow up, including approximately 600 dialysis patients and almost 800 with functioning renal transplants. The NCA’s renal footprint covers half of the Greater Manchester conurbation and serves several district general hospitals with out-reach clinics and in-reach ward support, caring for patients from Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Wigan and Bolton, as well as Salford and parts of Trafford.
All aspects of renal medicine are covered including sub-specialty clinics in glomerulonephritis, vasculitis, multiple long-term conditions including cardio-renal disease and renal-diabetes, renovascular disease and Fabry disease.
Salford Royal has a haemodialysis unit with 29 maintenance haemodialysis stations managing 156 patients per week and there are four satellite dialysis units at Bolton, Wigan, Oldham and Rochdale. The department has research links with Manchester Royal Infirmary where the regional kidney transplant Centre is situated.
The department is highly active in training medical students from the University of Manchester, and 14 of the 23 Salford Royal consultants have honorary titles with that institution and/or Manchester Metropolitan University. In the last 15 years, 21 renal specialist registrars have completed PhDs or MDs under academic supervision in the department, with a further six currently undertaking higher degrees.
Several of our senior clinicians hold or have held regional or national positions in academic renal medicine and these include:
Prof Philip Kalra: NCA’s Director of Research and Innovation and Director of the DRRC; previous Academic Vice President of the UK Renal Association; Chair of the UK Kidney Research Consortium and Chair of the NIHR CRN National Renal Disorders group.
Prof Smeeta Sinha: NCA’s Deputy Director of Research and Innovation – Innovation and Improvement Lead; National Clinical Director for Renal Medicine (NHS England); Principal Investigator for the UK Calciphylaxis Study and RevOCE (Revolutionising Outpatient Care for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease) study; NCA Health Inequalities lead.
Prof Darren Green: NCARC Biobank Clinical Lead in NCA; NICE Expert Advisor on Adult Nephrology and NIHR Clinical Lead in Renal Disorders (Greater Manchester CLRN).
Dr Dimitris Poulikakos: NCA’s Clinical Director (Department of Renal Medicine) at Salford Care Organisation and Clinical Director (co-chair) of the North West Kidney Network.
Dr Tina Chrysochou: UK Lead for the Renal Rare Diseases (RADAR) specialist interest group in Fibromuscular disease; Lead of the renal Young Adults clinic at Salford Royal Hospital; Sub-group Lead on Transition for the Renal Services Transformation Programme and Regional Kidney Network and previous President of Royal Society Medicine (Nephrology Section).
Dr Rosie Donne: KQuIP lead; National CKD transformation lead and the Lead for the Advanced Kidney Care Service (AKCS).
Dr James Ritchie: NCA’s Deputy Director of Research and Innovation – Digital and Artificial Intelligence Lead; Co-Chair of Clinical and Operational Group at Health Innovation Manchester and previous Program Director of the digital Control Centre (Salford Care Organisation).
Prof Helen Hurst: Professor of Nursing at the University of Salford; Co-founder of Association of Nephrology Nurses Association and Co-Chair of Kidney Dialysis Research Innovation Network.
Prof Ibi Erekosima: has been key to Salford Royal’s success as one of just six UK centres to be appointed to the International Society of Nephrology Sister Renal Centre scheme, supporting, and educating staff at the renal unit of the University Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria and stimulating research activity there. Key undergraduate education roles in the NCA and University of Manchester.