Join fight on kidney disease

VOLUNTEERS wanted . . .Dr Ian Wilkinson and Kathryn Taylor, lead nurse for the study in Oldham

IF YOU haven’t seen your GP for three years, you may think you are pretty healthy.

But those are exactly the people Chadderton GP Ian Wilkinson is looking for to take part in a national study on chronic kidney disease.

Oldham has been chosen alongside London and Birmingham to take part in the study to discover the prevalence of chronic kidney disease in different groups of people.

In Oldham, people have to be healthy, over the age of 18, and not have seen their family doctor for at least three years.

Dr Wilkinson is one of the nation’s leaders on renal disease. He is renal lead for Oldham Primary Care Trust, the GP adviser to Kidney Research UK, and a member of the National Chronic Kidney Disease Forum, run by the British Renal Society.

He also serves on a number of national committees relating to the disease, and will take part in the Great North Run to raise money for Kidney Research UK in October.

Dr Wilkinson is looking for 500 volunteers from across Oldham for screening in the Kidney Research UK-funded study.

The first two in a series of screening sessions are on Saturdays, September 27 and October 11.

People who volunteer will attend one session for a series of blood and urine tests, including one for blood pressure and one for diabetes, and have their height and weight recorded.

Volunteers will also get the chance to talk to a doctor at the end of screening.

Dr Wilkinson said: “The benefit of screening a whole population for kidney disease is questionable, and this study will look at if it is better to target specific groups which may be more prone to it.

“In the early stages, kidney disease does not make someone feel unwell, and the idea of screening is to pick it up early.”

Anyone found to have a health problem will get a follow-up appointment with their own GP, and reports will be sent to all who take part and their family doctors.

Anyone who wants to volunteer should contact Woodlands Medical Practice at Chadderton (Town) Health Centre on 0161-909 8131.