Representatives from d.HOLIDAY participated in the European Kidney Patients’ Federation (EKPF) Annual Summit, taking place in October in Kraków, Poland. The event brought together kidney patient organisations, patient advocates, healthcare stakeholders and industry representatives from across Europe.
The annual summit provides an important platform for dialogue around kidney health, giving patient organisations the opportunity to share perspectives and bringing the patient voice into discussions around research, innovation and the future of kidney care.
For d.HOLIDAY, it is also an important opportunity to listen and learn directly from the kidney patient community and strengthen relationships with patient organisations across Europe.
The summit was opened by Daniel Gallego, President of EKPF, followed by a contribution from Rajmund Michalski, President of My Kidneys OSMN. Representatives from kidney patient associations across Europe, including Poland, Spain, Italy, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Cyprus and Slovenia, among others, participated.
Throughout the day, discussions covered a broad range of topics within kidney health, from patient advocacy and quality of life to rare kidney conditions, patient focus groups, innovation and sustainable kidney care. These conversations offer valuable insight into the priorities and experiences of people living with kidney disease, while creating opportunities to explore how patient organisations and d.HOLIDAY can work together to raise awareness of holiday dialysis.
Building and maintaining relationships with kidney patient associations remains an important part of d.HOLIDAY's continued development. These organisations provide a direct link to local kidney communities and help deepen understanding of what patients need when considering travel while receiving dialysisOver the years, relationships developed through the European patient community have also resulted in collaborations around holiday dialysis, including initiatives supporting groups of dialysis patients travelling together.
Elenor Mårtensson, Global Customer Manager at Diaverum, shared: “It is always a pleasure to participate in the EKPF Annual Summit, which has become one of the highlights of the year in the d.HOLIDAY calendar. It gives us the opportunity to learn about new research and innovation within kidney health, but more importantly, to meet kidney patient associations and patients from across Europe and listen to what they need from us.
These relationships are fundamental to our continued work with d.HOLIDAY. They create a direct connection to the patient community, and open opportunities for us to work together to raise awareness of holiday dialysis and build trust among patients.”
Through continued dialogue with kidney patient organisations across Europe, d.HOLIDAY aims to strengthen awareness of the possibilities for travelling while receiving dialysis at any of Diaverum’s 470+ clinics and help more people living with dialysis feel empowered to travel.
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