A report listing the key factors in chronic kidney disease and its recommendations to fix them was unveiled yesterday.

Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, said that the first stage of universal health coverage had been started with the completion of the Chronic Kidney Disease Integrated Care Pathway Report.

She said that the barriers around caring for chronic kidney health were not insignificant, but were “addressable”.

She added: “The Government cannot implement all the recommendations, nor can they be implemented by stakeholders working in silos.

“It will take the continued collective participation and commitment of all stakeholders — including the Government, health service providers, insurers, people with lived experience and residents alike — to continue to lean into this work.

“The heavy lifting begins now.”

The report was released just before World Kidney Day, which starts today, during which the importance of nephological care is underscored.

Peter Topham, a consultant nephrologist with the Bermuda Hospitals Board, said that the report showed “significant financial, cultural and informational barriers” to accessing help for chronic kidney disease, or CKD.

He said that the high cost of care kept many from seeking out or maintaining long term, particularly since CKD requires constant tests and doctors’ visits.

Dr Topham said that “personal, cultural or spiritual beliefs” also kept some from seeking out care, often relying on alternative forms of care until their conditions worsen.

He added that public awareness around CKD is low, leading many to miss the warning signs of incoming kidney disease, as well as the causes, seriousness and treatment options for it.

The report found a lack of prevention strategies for CKD and a structured screening programme, which led to delayed diagnoses and missed prevention opportunities.

Dr Topham said that there was a lack of co-ordination among healthcare providers that prevented seamless kidney care for CKD sufferers.

Bermuda, he added, also does not have an organ transplant system and must go overseas for kidney transplants.

Dr Topham said that the best means of approaching the problem is through prevention awareness.

He said that this would require targeted prevention and screening programmes to catch the disease at an earlier point.

Dr Topham added that improving co-ordination between healthcare providers, increasing awareness around CKD, reducing financial constraints and improving organ donation rates were all needed to drastically reduce kidney disease.

He said that a “thorough assessment” would be needed to find the biggest hindrances to care, as well as a taskforce to combat these problems.

Dr Topham added: “If universal health coverage is to be fully realised, these barriers to accessing care must be addressed as a matter of priority.”

Kidneys play a role in filtering waste out of the blood, cleaning about one litre of blood, or one fifth of all blood pumped by the heart, every minute.

The kidneys also help control blood pressure, balance out chemical levels in the body and maintain healthy levels of body fluids.

The Bermuda Hospitals Board has also invited the public to receive free health screenings and information regarding kidney disease at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital today.

Nurses from the hospital’s dialysis unit will discuss prevention and treatment options, as well as provide free blood sugar and blood pressure tests.

Norma Smith, the vice-president of clinical operations, acute and ambulatory care, said that healthy kidneys were “critical” to wellbeing.

She added: “The theme for this year’s World Kidney Day is ‘Kidney health for all’.

“Prevention is how we avoid ending up needing dialysis, so we want to use World Kidney Day as an opportunity to encourage healthier living and screening.

“This can help people avoid dialysis altogether.”

The screenings and information sessions will take place in the Acute Care Wing’s lobby between 10am and 2pm.