Extra help for customers with chronic kidney disease thanks to Southern Water partnership with leading kidney charity

Did you know - a home kidney dialysis machine, a life-saving treatment which filters a patient’s blood, uses as much as 7,500 litres of water every week, the equivalent of almost 80 showers.

This is why Southern Water has launched a new partnership with Kidney Care UK to help 26,500 people living with chronic kidney disease in the Thanet, Crawley, Hastings, and Isle of Wight areas join our existing Priority Services Register (PSR) so they can cut their bills.

Only around 100 Southern Water customers on dialysis are currently on Southern Water’s register, despite estimates indicating about 3,000 people could be in this position across the South, and more than 150,000 people are likely to be living with chronic kidney disease in the region overall.

So if this is you, as we mark World Kidney Day, please get in touch so you can receive the support you need. Kidney Care UK have provided training to Southern Water staff to help support this initiative, and to raise awareness of the specific needs of this community.

Laurie Cuthbert, Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications at Kidney Care UK, said:

“This is an exciting partnership to transform the support that our kidney community will receive in the Southern Water supply network. We are pleased to be working in partnership with Southern Water to help support more of the 150,000 people living with chronic kidney disease in this region to enable them to receive support appropriate to their condition.

“The partnership will allow both organisations to raise greater awareness of chronic kidney disease more generally and be supported with community awareness days and drop in clinics at dialysis units across the Southern Water network.”

Katy Taylor, Chief Customer Officer at Southern Water, added:

“We are delighted to be working closely with this brilliant charity, to ensure that the support we offer vulnerable customers reaches those who really need it.

“Our team will be getting in touch with as many people as possible, through this partnership, but I would also urge anyone who needs help to get in touch with us and we will always do what we can to support you.”

Many people with kidney disease have been disproportionately affected by the cost of living crisis, due to expensive utility bills. This is due to some of those with the condition also having anaemia, so feeling the cold more, and treatments being energy intensive.

A dedicated Southern Water page is now available on the Kidney Care UK website directing patients to information about how to gain support with  bills. Customers with questions can also contact us for free on 0800 027 0363 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).