The renal clinic and haemodialysis programme
Screening in the community, specialist nephrology care in the clinic, and haemodialysis for as long as a patient needs it.
Diagnosis and recovery
A kidney diagnosis is not automatically permanent. In many cases kidney function recovers with the right treatment and early intervention.
Acute kidney injury can resolve completely when it is treated in time. Chronic kidney disease found early can be slowed or halted before dialysis is needed.
Recovery depends on reaching treatment early. The community screening programme finds kidney disease at that stage, in people who have no symptoms yet.
Kidney failure
Healthy kidneys filter waste and excess fluid out of the blood continuously. When they fail, that waste and fluid stay in the body.
Without treatment a patient becomes breathless, swollen and confused, and the chemistry of the blood moves far enough out of range to stop the heart.
Haemodialysis does the filtering artificially. The blood is circulated through a machine, cleaned and returned.
A patient with end stage kidney disease needs treatment several times every week, for the rest of their life or until a transplant.
Clinical services
Acute kidney injury management
A sudden loss of kidney function, after severe infection, dehydration, obstruction, complications in pregnancy or a toxic exposure. Treated quickly, kidney function can return completely.
Chronic kidney disease management
The slow loss of function that most often follows years of diabetes or high blood pressure. Managed early, its progress can be slowed.
Haemodialysis
Machine filtration of the blood for patients whose kidneys can no longer do it. Delivered as a repeating course of sessions, with the schedule set by the clinical team.
Nephrology consultations
Specialist assessment and review. The nephrologist establishes the cause, sets the treatment plan, adjusts medication and decides when dialysis should begin.
Tunnelled dialysis catheter placement
Reliable long term vascular access for patients on a continuing course of dialysis. This service will be offered as the programme expands.
Community screening
Chronic disease screening in the surrounding community, covering kidney function, diabetes and hypertension. Testing is offered to people with no symptoms.
The patient pathway
Screening
Blood pressure, blood sugar and kidney function checks, offered in the clinic and at community outreach events. Testing is aimed at people who have no symptoms yet.
Diagnosis
Anyone whose results are abnormal is brought in for laboratory testing and a nephrology assessment, to establish whether this is an acute injury, early chronic disease, or kidney failure that has already advanced.
Treatment plan
The nephrology team sets the plan with the patient and their family. Medication and monitoring where the disease can still be slowed, or preparation for dialysis where it cannot. Cost is discussed at this point.
Dialysis sessions
For patients who need it, a repeating course of haemodialysis at the clinic. Sponsorship is applied to the sessions of patients who cannot meet the cost.
Follow up
Review of blood results and dialysis adequacy, management of anaemia, blood pressure and nutrition, and adjustment of the plan as the condition of the patient changes. Patients who stop attending are contacted.
Family support
Families are taught what the illness is, what the schedule requires of them, and what warning signs mean a patient must be brought in before the next appointment.
Screening outreach
Chronic kidney disease is silent for years. By the time it causes symptoms that send someone to a clinic, much of the damage is permanent.
The foundation supports a chronic disease screening programme for the community around the clinic, testing for the conditions that lead to kidney failure and for kidney function itself.
- Checks offered to people with no symptoms
- Particular attention to those living with diabetes or high blood pressure
- A route from an abnormal result into a nephrology assessment
- Health education delivered alongside testing, in the language of the community
SAS Lweza Clinic
Treatment is delivered at SAS Lweza Clinic on Entebbe Road, Naziba Hill, in Lubowa / Lweza, Seguku. It is a fully licensed medical facility that has been operating since 2012, and it is where the renal clinic and haemodialysis programme was launched.
The clinic is the clinical partner of the foundation and a separate legal entity. Clinicians there hold the clinical decisions. The foundation funds the subsidised treatment and supports the screening outreach.
The clinic line is answered around the clock on +256 760 516 815.
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