A NATIONAL organisation is working with a North-East hospital in a bid to help patients who need a new kidney have their transplant as quickly as possible.

NHS Kidney Care, a national organisation that works with kidney patients and healthcare professionals, selected the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to work on a joint project.

It followed an appeal by NHS Kidney Care to kidney centres and transplant units around the country to come up with new ways to increase the number of people having kidney transplants before they need dialysis.

Transplantation is many times more cost effective for the NHS than dialysis, and evidence shows that patients who receive a transplant before they need to start dialysis have the best long-term health outcomes.

The Newcastle trust has reviewed the transplant listing process, with the aim of keeping the patient and their family better informed and speeding up the process.

Transplant coordinators will be involved at an early stage to discuss transplantation and support the patient and their family.

NHS Kidney Care is supporting 21 transplant units across the country so different ways of improving transplant services can be tested.

Beverley Matthews, director of NHS Kidney Care, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Newcastle Hospitals Trust on this project, which will make such a difference to the lives of people in the North- East with kidney disease.”