GP practices in Manchester have identified dozens of extra patients with chronic kidney disease, after rolling out a scheme to test at-risk patients.
The scheme was introduced last year across 19 practices and focused on case-finding and treating patients in the Greater Manchester area and sharing best practice.
The year-long scheme found 1,324 new patients with CKD and resulted in the percentage of patients managed to NICE blood pressure targets increasing from 34% to 74% and a 43% reduction in referrals to specialist care.
The estimated cost/benefit ratio to the NHS was 0.45, suggesting that for every £1 it costs to implement this improvement, the NHS will save £2.20 over five years in avoidable morbidity and mortality among patients.
The scheme was launched after research findings and 2008/09 QOF data suggested a gap between the recorded local prevalence and estimated national average prevalence of chronic kidney disease of around 2%.
It is now being rolled out across a further ten practices, across NHS Bradford and Airedale.
