Kidney Care UK is the UK’s leading kidney patient support charity. They offer advice and assistance to thousands of kidney patients every year and are dedicated to improving their quality of life, providing support to more than 100 patients every week.  

Currently, around 7.2 million people in the UK have chronic kidney disease. Kidney Care UK works at both a national and government level to improve health care for kidney patients across the UK. 

Their mission is to provide support to those living with kidney disease, whether this be emotional, practical, or financial, ensuring individuals have access to the assistance needed to best manage their condition. 

Delivering Practical and Financial Support 

Before partnering with Auriga Services in 2018, Kidney Care UK had a very small Patient Support & Advocacy team. This meant that it was increasingly challenging to meet the large number of financial and practical support needs presented by their clients.  

Approximately half of the individuals seeking help required financial assistance. Whilst the Kidney Care UK team were skilled in welfare benefits, support applications, and income maximisation, the need for assistance was time-sensitive and there were too many applications for the capacity of the team.  

Auriga Services became a dedicated partner, providing them with an option of overflow support. This meant that Kidney Care UK were able to continue to deliver specialist financial assistance to their clients and meet the needs of increasing applications. The partnership allowed Auriga Services to remove some of the application pressures with the high demand for Kidney Care UK’s services. In addition, Auriga were able to increase the services offered, providing FCA authorised debt advice, ensuring clients can receive expert guidance on managing any debts and achieving financial stability. 

Through their partnership, Auriga Services have made a significant impact, supporting 3,840 client referrals from Kidney Care UK. The Auriga services team have identified £9.4 million in income and gains for their clients and £6.3 million in realised income, demonstrating the tangible impact of the support provided to kidney care patients across the UK. 

Changing the Lives of Thousands 

In 2024 4,200 clients received tailored financial and practical support through Kidney Care’s support. Kidney Care UK views Auriga as a continuous arm to their service offerings. “The team are very knowledgeable, and responsive as well as having robust working processes in place.”  Sarah Oakley, Director of Patient Support Services commented. Auriga’s support has been customised and scaled to fit the specific needs of their organisation, ensuring that the processes are aligned with the charity’s goal to provide patients with holistic support. 

Each month the team at Auriga support the Kidney Care clients by identifying t financial gains such as income, grants or savings and debt advice as well as suggesting non-financial gains such as occupational therapy referrals, Priority Service registration, and energy advice.  

Sarah commented “Auriga Services have worked with Kidney Care UK to better understand the challenges of people living with chronic kidney disease. Combined with Auriga Services’ knowledge of welfare benefits and income maximisation, we refer our clients knowing they will be supported to achieve the outcomes they are entitled to.” 

Collaboration in Action 

This partnership highlights the significance and tangible impact of aligning services with an organisation’s mission to achieve successful outcomes as well as helping to support people facing life’s challenges. Auriga Services has been a key partner in helping Kidney Care UK to scale their impact and better meet the needs of their clients.  

Sarah highlighted, “Auriga Services have been instrumental in supporting our aim to empower kidney patients to achieve better financial and practical outcomes.”