Band 5 Living Kidney Donation Outreach Worker

This innovative new post is available to start as soon as possible from September 2024 to support the Living Kidney Transplant Scheme project funded by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). The main purpose of this post is to provide 1-to-1 support to targeted black kidney patients at the Royal Free who are considering kidney transplantation as an option.

Working closely with the hospital-based transplant, peritoneal dialysis (PD) and haemodialysis (HD) teams, and supported by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the appointee will join a dynamic transplant team consisting of living donor co-ordinators, nephrologists, transplant surgeons and tissue typing scientists in the Renal Department of the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust. This project is supported by the Royal Free Organ Donation Committee and the Royal Free Kidney Patients Association.

Approximately 40-50 live kidney transplants and 80-100 cadaveric kidney transplants are performed each year at the Royal Free Hospital. This post will suit someone who has some understanding of barriers to living kidney transplantation among black kidney patients and knowledge of the arrangements for living kidney donation and transplantation in the UK.

Main duties of the job

1. To review documentation from previous outreach work

2. To arrange an initial meeting with the 86 black patients identified to discuss the possibility of living kidney donation in the clinics

3. To provide information on living donation and transplantation to the patients mentioned in 2 above and offer them further support

4. To identify patients who need further support from the initial meetings

5. To arrange follow up meetings in the clinics with patients identified in 4 above and to offer them on-going support, as needed, on living donation

6. To facilitate meetings between the patients and the living donation champions appointed to support this project

7. To continue to offer support, including support in identifying potential living donors from the family and friends of the patient

8. To facilitate referral to the living transplant co-ordinator of potential living donors who are interested in exploring this option

9. To work in collaboration with the nurses in the low clearance clinics and the living transplant coordinator

10. To keep accurate records of all engagement with patients

11. To attend the monthly meeting of the Project Team and present a report on progress

12. To provide information for evaluating the project to the Project Team, as requested

The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFH) has more than 10,000 staff and serves a population of over 1.6 million people.

As well as services for local people, such as accident and emergency service, and all branches of surgery and medicine, the trust is renowned for many specialist services. These include, amongst others, solid organ and bone marrow transplantation, nephrology and hepatology, HIV and infectious diseases, plastic surgery, immunology, paediatric gastroenterology, ENT surgery and audiological medicine, amyloidosis and scleroderma. The RFH is a leading cancer centre with a range of specialist diagnostic and treatment services in oncology and haematology, and a major neuroscience base with a network extending throughout North London, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

The RFH's research priorities in collaboration with the medical school are translational and clinical research underpinned by a strong basic science. Areas of research excellence include organ failure and transplantation, haematology and oncology, immunity, inflammation, and neurosciences.

In August 2008 the RFH became a founder member of UCL Partners, a federation of University College London (UCL) with associated specialist trusts. UCL Partners was designated as an academic health science centre by the secretary of state in March 2009.