Hospital named international kidney training centre

Dr Sean Fenwick, deputy chief executive of STSFT, with Dr Saeed Ahmed and members of the renal team with the ISN accreditation

A hospital is set to teach kidney specialists from across the world after securing top professional accreditation.

Sunderland Royal Hospital's renal unit will become a training centre as part of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN).

It is only the second in the UK to receive the status, which will see specialists travel to Wearside to work on placements.

Dr Saeed Ahmed, consultant interventional nephrologist, said: "By learning and teaching, we strengthen our knowledge and that will help us as we care for our patients."

Nephrology is the branch of medicine that deals with kidney disease.

An applicant from Kenya and another from Brazil have already shown interest in placements with the hospital, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT) said.

They will learn how clinical staff carry out procedures and treatments on kidney patients.

The aim is to train staff to provide better quality of care for people receiving dialysis in their own country, and allow them to pass on their newly-acquired skills.

Dr Ahmed added: "In turn, we will learn about how things are done in their country as well as more about their culture and ways of working."

There are just 17 ISN-accredited nephrology training centres in the world.

Sunderland's accreditation follows on from the trust launching the UK's first Interventional Nephrology PGCert course, in partnership with Newcastle University.

The trust will hold the ISN status for five years and said it already plans to reapply.