Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is an emerging global healthcare issue. It is estimated that one in five emergency admissions into hospital are associated with AKI and that up to 100,000 deaths in secondary care are associated with AKI. The 2009 NCEPOD report Adding Insult to Injury identified that a quarter to a third of all cases could be prevented through earlier diagnosis and improving assessment of risk factors for AKI and acute illness.
NHS England in partnership with the UK Renal Registry has recently launched a National AKI Prevention Programme which will include the development of tools and interventions to improve the detection and management of patients at risk or with AKI. A priority for the Programme is the development and adoption of e-alert systems which will proactively notify clinicians when a patient has AKI, supporting implementation of AKI NICE guidance (CG169) and the recent Patient Safety Alert: Standardising the early identification of Acute Kidney Injury published on 9 June 2014.
The South West Cardiovascular Strategic Clinical Network has identified some funding to support this work across the South West. All trusts in the South West have signed up to the SCN project and will be required to:
Identify an AKI champion to raise awareness of AKI across the trust through education and training;
- Implement an e-alert system linked to the pathology system;
- Develop and implement AKI care guidelines;
- Provide data to the SW SCN relating to the project.
Trusts are currently completing a baseline audit and the first of three initial learning events for the AKI champions is planned for Friday 21 November 2014.
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