Ministry For Health Welcomes And Supports Establishment Of Kidney Care Gibraltar
Kidney Care Gibraltar (formerly known as the Gibraltar Dialysis Patients and Friends Association) held their Annual General Meeting recently.
A statement from the Government follows below:
Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Care, Evelyn Cervan, opened the meeting on behalf of Minister Paul Balban.
During her address, Ms Cervan thanked the Charity, emphasising the importance of their close collaboration with the Ministry for Health and the GHA. Evelyn also took the opportunity to thank the GHA’s Dialysis Unit, who were joint winners of the GHA’s Healthcare Team of the Year Award for 2019, and the Sister Charge Nurse of the Dialysis Unit, Marta Morales, who was voted by patients to win the Patients’ Choice Award.
The GHA’s Consultant Nephrologist, Dr Simon Lines, said: "The renal services have been through an exciting phase. The renal team were humbled to be joint winners of the GHA Team of the Year in recognition of their hard work and the progress being made. We are also fortunate to have the support of the (newly rebadged) Kidney Care Gibraltar with record numbers attending the latest AGM."
The President of Kidney Care Gibraltar, Sunil Chandiramani, said: "The AGM was a watershed moment for Kidney patients in Gibraltar. The membership of the predecessor charity, Gibraltar Dialysis Patients and Friends Association, unanimously agreed to change the name of the charity and establish Kidney Care Gibraltar. The AGM proved to be a huge success with 50 patients, carers and members in attendance! Kidney Care Gibraltar is established to support, raise awareness, fundraise, educate, campaign and cooperate on all matters of kidney health and kidney disease. We would like to thank the Ministry for Health and the Gibraltar Health Authority for their support in this change. We would also like to thank Sonia Stafford, Michelle Stafford Mills and the team at The Lounge - Gibraltar for once again hosting the patients’ breakfast. Finally, a big thank you to Holland & Barrett Gibraltar for donating a goodie bag to each patient member."
Minister for Health and Care, Paul Balban, said: "The close working relationship enjoyed between the Ministry for Health, the GHA and the Gibraltar Dialysis Patients and Friends Association has led to extremely important developments in dialysis care in Gibraltar over the years. I am proud that this will continue under their new branding as Kidney Care Gibraltar. Works to the new, expanded dialysis unit announced by my predecessor at last year’s AGM are well underway and the number of our patients receiving kidney transplants continues to grow. I am excited to make further announcements on this soon."
