A former International Society of Nephrology (ISN) fellow, Aimun Ahmed – a Consultant Nephrologist with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals – has been helping to educate and train on kidney disease in developing countries across the world, in his role as an ISN Renal Ambassador.
One of the ISN’s aims is to promote nephrology and kidney disease in developing countries, by training young nephrologists or sending experts out to educate, teach and exchange experiences, and Dr Ahmed has visited Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The society also allows sponsored fellows to come to well-known centres for excellence around the world – of which Royal Preston Hospital is one – to be trained, before returning to their countries to apply the knowledge they have gained.
Delegates from around 48 different countries have been to Preston on international courses in renal, like the kidney biopsy course and the peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion course, with fellows from approximately 15 nations also coming here to train and observe, spending time in Preston for up to one year.
Dr Ahmed is the lead for these international links, with a place on the UK Renal Association International Committee.
Born in the UK, before returning with his family to Egypt, he then came to work in Sheffield, and his career developed from there.
He said: “We are a recognised centre of training internationally – many people across the globe know the Royal Preston Hospital and wish to come and spend time to learn our high standard practices and services.
“It’s a good thing to be a recognised centre, to have these international links, and it is very useful – I’ve been to Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Uzbekistan and Croatia recently. The ISN is well-known, it is the biggest and most influential global organisation in nephrology.
“I want to exchange experiences, not just to teach. I learn as well – when you see others, you see you are at a great advantage here in the NHS. It’s a different world, there is a lot to learn.”
In Bosnia, six nephrologists and three specialist nurses from the Royal Preston Hospital visited the University Clinical Centre (UCC) in Tuzla during an eight-year partnership, before graduating through the ISN Sister Renal Centres (SRC) Programme in May.
The Royal Preston also donated an ultrasound machine to the UCC to carry out real-time kidney biopsies.
The aim was to develop transplant services, and subsequently, the UCC has now become a renowned referral centre for transplantation – the only one of three in Bosnia regularly performing unrelated living renal transplantation (spouses) and higher immunological risk transplantations, including re-transplantations.
The centre now performs the most transplants (including from deceased donors) and patient follow-ups in the country.
In March, Dr Ahmed also spent a week providing training at the Republican Specialised Scientific Medical Centre (RSSMPC) of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with support from the ISN Educational Ambassadors Program (EAP).
The programme comprised of lectures and hands-on workshops on transplantation and chronic kidney disease, and glomerular disease detection and management.
Transplantation is progressing in Uzbekistan since resuming in 2017 after a lengthy ban, with 300 transplants performed in the country last year.
The RSSMPC in Tashkent is Uzbekistan’s leading kidney transplantation centre, and the training has been positively received, as Dr. Olimkhon Sharapov from the RSSMPC said: “The training aroused unusual interest among all categories of listeners, even our assembly hall could hardly accommodate all those interested.”
The Renal Department at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals will continue to coach, support and link with the renal centre in Tashkent through online Continuing Medical Education teaching sessions for up to three hours per week.
