A pioneering patient education workshop believed to be the ‘first of its kind in Yorkshire’ has helped kidney patients in Bradford learn more about their condition and treatment in their preferred languages.
The event, organised by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s renal team, saw NHS staff deliver information directly to South Asian patients in Urdu and Punjabi.
Consultant Nephrologist and Clinical Lead for Renal Medicine, Dr Mansoor Ali, said: “Living with kidney disease can involve some very important and sometimes difficult decisions about treatment.
“We want every patient to understand the options available to them and feel confident taking part in decisions about their care. Being able to have those conversations in Urdu and Punjabi, supported by our multidisciplinary team and patients sharing their own experiences, made a real difference.
“It’s vital that people feel informed, supported and confident about their care and treatment, and we’re delighted to have had positive feedback from this event with patients asking us to hold more events like this.”
Dr Mansoor Ali
Patients, who were joined by families and carers, were able to talk directly to doctors, specialist nurses and allied healthcare professionals from the Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospital multidisciplinary (MDT) team who spoke to them in Urdu and Punjabi. They were also able to ask questions about their treatment and care.
The event took place at The Park Lane Centre, in Little Horton, and covered dialysis, home therapies, kidney transplantation and living kidney donation.
A patient panel also shared their experiences of living with kidney disease and receiving dialysis three times a week in hospital, while others spoke about home dialysis and successful kidney transplantation. Their stories gave patients and families an opportunity to hear first-hand from people who understood the challenges of living with kidney disease and to benefit from peer support.
The Trust’s Health Equity Project Manager, Shaheen Kauser, also attended the workshop.
Shaheen explained: “Seeing patients, carers, families, nurses, allied health professionals and consultants communicating openly in Urdu and Punjabi was incredibly powerful.
“Conversations flowed naturally, questions were asked with confidence and information was shared in a way that everyone could understand. By providing education in these patients’ preferred languages, we can improve understanding, support informed decision-making and increase people’s confidence in managing long-term conditions.
“This seminar was a powerful example of health equity in action. It showed what can be achieved when services are designed around the needs of different communities.”
Peer support was also provided by patients and families from the Bradford and Airedale Kidney Information Network (BrAdKIN) and Bradford Kidney Patients Association (KPA).
The event was organised as part of Bradford Renal Unit’s Transform Advanced Kidney Care project, a kidney quality improvement initiative aiming to improve care for patients with kidney disease. It was led and delivered by Tahira Mir, Cultural Health and Information Officer at the unit, who was supported by Dr Ali and Shiraz Bismillah, Renal Services Manager.
The kidney team is now keen to build on the seminar by holding similar events to give more patients opportunities to learn about kidney disease, speak to healthcare professionals and other patient kidney support networks in the city, as well as play an active role in decisions about their treatment.
