Call to help employees manage mental and physical toll of kidney disease

The mental health of people with kidney disease needs to be considered within any care and recovery plans as much as their physical treatment, a report has recommended.

Commissioned by the charity Kidney Research UK and written by the Centre for Mental Health, the report, Addressing the mental health challenges of life with kidney disease: The case for change, analysed more than 200 academic papers and spoke to patients, families and healthcare professionals about the mental health burden that can come with the invasive and often life-limiting treatments for kidney disease.

Issues with staff capacity and training, a lack of specialised professionals, problems with coordination between healthcare teams, regional discrepancies in approach, and a lack of individualised care all contributed to the barriers kidney patients face accessing effective mental healthcare, it found.

While not specifically addressed within the report, the mental and physical challenges of maintaining employment or returning to work following treatment while dealing with kidney disease is likely to be a key factor. Occupational health practitioners can be key in terms of leading the support and adjustments needed by employees to do this.

The charity Kidney Care UK, for example, has made the point that, for people with mild to moderate kidney disease, there may be few physical symptoms and they may still feel well.

But as the condition advances this can change. People can feel very tired, sick and in pain. They can struggle to stay in work at this point and may need to take a lot of time off sick. Equally, they may need to take time off for hospital appointments or dialysis sessions.

Employers, it recommends, can help by conducting a workplace assessment (often with input from an occupational health practitioner). Adjusting hours to suit the employee’s haemodialysis schedule will also help.

Allowing working from home for some or part of the week and providing adapted computer equipment or better seating can also be beneficial. Equally, allowing more breaks or adjusting someone’s role or responsibilities (especially if they are in a physically demanding role) can all be helpful. Having access to, and support from, an OH team can also be crucial.

To that end, the Kidney Research UK report has made three key recommendations:

• Adopting a more tailored approach to mental health care for patients with kidney disease, through a stepped model that becomes more specialised depending on the individual’s need.
• Investment into all renal services to ensure staff are trained and supported to assess and refer patients for further mental health help.
• Increased government funding for research into the relationship between kidney disease and mental health to enable the ongoing development of essential services.

Sandra Currie, chief executive at Kidney Research UK, said: “Kidney disease takes a huge toll on patients’ mental health, as treatments are gruelling and often fraught with multiple additional complications.

“Kidney patients need access to specialist mental health support, from professionals who understand the unique impact of kidney disease and its treatments. Focused care can transform patients’ lives and enable them to live as well as possible with the burden of their physical health condition,” she added.