THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR KIDNEY CARE NURSES
ANN UK is a non-profit making membership organisation that aims to provide support for registered and non-registered nurses through education, research, evidence-based practice and by setting national standards for nurses working in kidney care.
Our Journey
ANN UK affiliated to the British Renal Society
Work to develop an online renal course starts.
Special Interest Groups established for Nursing Research, Home Therapies.
Recognised as key resource for nursing opinion by renal and non-renal national associations.
Developed Nursing workforce planning within BRS Workforce Planning Document.
Contributed to national guidance for providing haemodialysis in critical care , influencing use of Personal Protective Equipment, ensuring patient safety in haemodialysis units.
ANN UK representation on national leadership groups for COVID-19
Real time support offered for lead nurses working in kidney care through an active WhatsApp group.
Association Anaemia Nurse Specialists Association joined ANN UK as a special interest group
Inaugural ANN UK Conference
Regular webinars
ANNUK elearning Renal Course Launched.
Executive Committee
Sarah Brand
ANN UK President & Executive Committee Chair
Assistant Divisional Nurse in the Cancer and Associated Specialities, Nottingham University Hospitals Trust.
Dr Brand is the Assistant Divisional Nurse in Cancer and Associated Specialities. She also works as the Senior Renal Research Nurse within the Nottingham Renal Unit and has over 15 years of renal clinical trials experience. She is a member of the UK Renal Clinical Trials Network and is also one of the NIHR 70@70 Nurse Research Leaders, seeking to build a research-led care environment within the nursing profession. Her interests are patient and public engagement in research, service improvement, and increasing nurse capacity and capability for research.
Karen Jenkins
ANN UK Founding Member & Past President
Consultant Nurse Renal Medicine, Kent Kidney Care Centre, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
Karen has many years’ experience in renal nursing: nephrology, haemodialysis, anaemia management, pre dialysis and research. She became a Consultant Nurse in 2003 working mainly in Renal Palliative care. She is passionate about education and training, clinical leadership, and raising the profile of renal nurses. She is known nationally and internationally for her work in roles such as: BRS Vice President for Clinical Practice, Consultant Editor Journal of Kidney Care, CKD Consultant EDTNA/ERCA, now on the Board for UKKA. She was co-founder of the Anaemia Nurse Specialist Association (ANSA) and ANN UK.
Helen Hurst
Executive Committee & Founding Member
Professor of Nursing, Salford University
Helen is a Consultant Nurse for Older People/Frailty with over 30 years’ experience in the NHS. She has extensive experience in renal medicine working as an advanced clinical practitioner, a co-founder of ANN UK and leading the project for the National Renal course. She completed her PhD (2011) and has wide experience in research within peritoneal dialysis and ACKD and frailty. She was Vice President, BRS Education committee and takes up a new role of co-chair of academic affairs in UKKA. She is chair of the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD) nursing committee. She has presented nationally and internationally. Helen is interested in research capacity building and engaging nurses and AHP’s in research.
Becky Bonfield
Executive Committee Member & COP Lead
AKI Advanced Nurse Practitioner, University of Southampton
Becky Bonfield is the Acute Kidney Injury Lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Southampton, a role she has developed over the last 7 years. Becky is an acute care nurse by background, with 9 years of experience within a critical care outreach team, and as a ward sister in a medical high dependency before that. Becky has been a nurse for 22 years, and has always had a passion for improvement. When Becky completed her MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice she wrote her masters dissertation on improving fluid balance documentation. Something that continues to be a passion now. Alongside her clinical work Becky has held a NIHR Predoctoral Clinical Academic Fellowship, and works at the University of Southampton as a Clinical Teaching Fellow on the advanced practice pathway. She was one of the founders of the AKI SIG, and currently chairs that group. Becky’s passions are improving the care of patients with AKI, workforce development and fluid balance documentation.
Sarah Mcmillan
Lead Nurse for Welsh Kidney Network
Sarah is the Lead Nurse for the Welsh Kidney Network, working on a national level to commission renal services for all our welsh residents. She also continues to work clinically as a vascular access clinical nurse specialist and has achieved a PgCert in ultrasound to enhance this clinical role. She has over 17 years’ experience in kidney care, working in transplantation, nephrology and in a clinical nurse specialist role. She is also passionate about workforce planning, renal education and raising the profile of renal nursing, with a particular interest in improving efficiency through the use of digital innovations.
Nicola Anderson
Executive Committee Member
Senior Renal Research Nurse, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Nicola is a Senior Renal Research Nurse, working in the field of clinical research since 2003, in both clinical and teaching roles. She has broad experience of study management including coordination of multi-centre CTIMP and device studies. She completed an MSc in Healthcare Law and Ethics in 2008 (University of Birmingham) and is currently undertaking postgraduate study at the Centre for Patient Reported Outcomes Research (CPROR), University of Birmingham, exploring the use and implementation of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in the management of patients with end stage renal disease requiring treatment with haemodialysis.
Emma MurphyExecutive Committee Member Dr Emma Murphy RN MSc PhD Emma has 26 years clinical experience in nephrology and palliative care nursing across diverse teams and settings. She graduated with a PhD in palliative medicine from the Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London. She leads research at the interface between nephrology and palliative care, with particular focus on improving outcomes for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In 2016 she was awarded an NIHR Clinical Lectureship and is chief investigator of the QUALYCARE Kidney study at the University of Southampton. She has published on the palliative care needs of renal patients, including on symptoms, dialysis withdrawal and conservative kidney management. |
Helen Spooner
Executive Committee Member
Nurse Consultant, New Cross Hospital Wolverhampton
Helen is Nurse Consultant with over 25 years’ experience in renal nursing having worked in the specialty since qualifying.
She has a particular interest in vascular access and is a member of VASBI and the BRS special interest group for vascular access.
She is passionate about renal nursing and raising the profile of renal nurses and has been involved in a number of quality improvement projects including jointly leading transplant first in the west midlands and is currently secondary care lead for the Black Country and West Birmingham STP CKD Programme.
Lynsey Stronach
Executive Committee Member
Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Renal Services, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children
Lynsey has more than 20 years of experience in renal and paediatric nursing, the last 14 of which have been at GOSH specialising in paediatric haemodialysis. She is also co-lead for the Paediatric Nursing Renal course at London SouthBank University.
Lynsey has a keen interest in vascular access and co-chairs the ANN UK Vascular Access Community of Practice with Helen Spooner.
Helen Watts
Executive Committee Member
Helen Watts RN, Post grad dip Mgt, NMP, Msc ANP
Divisional Director of Nursing, Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust
Helen’s current role is as the Divisional Director of Nursing at Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust. Prior to this, she worked in London and has gained a broad experience in kidney care covering home therapy, outpatient dialysis, advanced kidney care, nephrology & in patient care. Whilst working in nephrology & being part of the team at Imperial developing virtual referral & support services, Helen completed an Msc in Advanced Practice. Her dissertation focused on patient information needs and from this she developed an education programme for early and later stage kidney disease. Her current role gives opportunity to put all of this experience to work and her aim is always to make a difference for people who carry the burden of lifelong kidney disease and the teams who support them. She is an executive board member of ANN UK & enjoys working alongside the team focusing on Nursing workforce needs & supporting UKKA PREM. Helen also enjoys the collaborative approach that the London Kidney Network brings.
If you would like to contact an Executive Member directly, please email info@ann-uk.org.
