Renal National Clinical Network

The Renal Network is focused on equity for all patients and whānau with kidney disease. We aim to develop national models of care to reduce treatment variation and improve service access, quality and outcomes.

Increasing demand for renal replacement therapy is being driven by multiple factors, including suboptimal management of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and gout. The network will develop models of care for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT), which can be applied nationally to reduce the variation in treatment provided to patients and whānau with kidney disease. Māori and Pacific peoples are disproportionately affected by CKD and the need for RRT. As part of its work, the network must develop strategies which reduce the disparity in outcomes for patients and whānau. Creating national leadership across renal services is critical to delivering these goals of a better, fairer health system for all people in all communities, which is at the heart of the Interim National Health Plan, Te Pae Tata.

The Renal National Clinical Network takes the place of the National Renal Advisory Board (NRAB), which was disestablished in November 2023.

Strategic group members

Name	Role	Location
Drew Henderson	Co-lead and Nephrologist	Waikato
Leanne Te Karu	Co-lead and Prescribing Pharmacist	Napier
Joanna Dunlop	Nephrologist	Auckland
Helen Eddington	Nephrologist	Tauranga
Robin Erickson	Paediatric Nephrologist	National
To’a Fereti	Nursing Director	National
Sheree Godfrey	Renal Social Worker	Palmerston North
Suetonia Green	Nephrologist	Christchurch
Lyn Lloyd	Advanced Practitioner Dietitian	Auckland
Sandy McLean-Cooper	Director of Nursing and Midwifery	Nelson
Paul Manley	National Clinical Lead for Renal Transplant	National
Sue Tutty	General Practitioner	Auckland

Subgroups and chairpersons

Sub-group	Name	Role	Location
Digital Infrastructure	Tina Sun	Nephrologist	Auckland
Data Quality & Performance	Andrew Salmon	Nephrologist	Auckland
Model of Care - Dialysis	Shaiju Thaikandy	Renal Service Manager	Hastings
Model of Care - CKD	Walaa Saweirs	Nephrologist	Whangārei
Whānau & Consumer	Whetumarama (Marama) Parore	Principle Advisor – Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People	Wellington

Terms of reference

View the Terms of Reference for the Renal National Clinical Network (PDF 168KB).

High-level priorities

Devise a comprehensive model of care for dialysis – including reviewing national capacity/capability and models of delivery.
Enable a cross-sector approach to develop clear pathways to optimise the identification of CKD and access to best practice/management.
Partner with other Networks to deliver a holistic and joined up approach to the prevention of kidney disease.
Ensure robust data and data infrastructure inform targeted care and deliver optimal patient outcomes.

Principles

Meet our Co-leads

Leanne Te Karu

Ngāti Rangi, Te Ati Haunui-a-Pāpārangi Muaūpoko

Leanne has broad experience across Aotearoa New Zealand’s health and disability system, including in clinical settings, governance, research, strategy, and iwi development.

Clinically, Leanne works as Aotearoa’s first pharmacist prescriber, focusing on complex multimorbidity and unmet needs. She is committed to weaving the strands of clinical excellence, cultural safety and indigenous knowledge and values.

In addition to general practice/medical clinics, she works in marae settings alongside rongoā practitioners, including in the Waimarino among her whānau, to optimise medicine therapy. Medicines optimisation acknowledges that medicines have the potential to cure, control or prevent illness but that they can also cause adverse effects. The aim is to ensure optimal use, so the impacts of illnesses are reduced, and drug-related harms are avoided.

Leanne sits on New Zealand’s Medicines Adverse Reactions Committee and was a Ministerial Appointment to the PHARMAC Review Panel tasked with reviewing Pharmac and to make recommendations on ensuring that New Zealanders have the best health outcomes from medicines and in particular Māori and Pasifika.

Leanne co-founded Ngā Kaitiaki o Te Puna Rongoā o Aotearoa, the Māori Pharmacists’ Association, in 2003 as a network to support Māori pharmacists and to hold the pharmacy profession to deliver culturally safe care to Māori.

A highlight of the awards and recognition Leanne has received includes being inaugural recipient of the Primary Healthcare Clinical Pharmacist Award at the New Zealand Primary Healthcare | He Tohu Mauri Ora Awards.

Leanne is focused on indigenous peoples and understanding how health systems can best support those who are disadvantaged, arguing for a medicines environment from a solution-focused societal perspective with mātauranga at its core.

Drew Henderson

Drew has been a consultant nephrologist in Aotearoa and Scotland for more than 15 years and is currently Medical Director and consultant nephrologist at Waikato Hospital.

He was the first full time nephrologist at Hawke’s Bay hospital between 2007 and 2011 where he led the development of the business case for the Hawke’s Bay Hospital Renal Unit. In parallel, he developed a comprehensive multidisciplinary renal service with provision of in-centre and home dialysis training, vascular access and parathyroid surgery, plasma exchange and local transplant follow up.

Drew developed outreach services to Wairoa and collaborated with the local community to set up the Wairoa community dialysis house.

After six years in Scotland, Drew returned to Aotearoa in 2017 and took up his role as consultant nephrologist before becoming clinical lead in 2019 and then Medical Director Cancer, Chronic Conditions and Radiology in 2022 at Waikato Hospital.

He is the medical lead for the business case and design for the new kidney unit Te Pureoranga at Waikato Hospital. He has been a member of the National Renal Advisory Board (2021-2023), the National Renal Transplant Service Strategic Group (2020-2023) and currently a council member of the Australia New Zealand Society of Nephrology.

Drew is an advocate for improvement in health outcomes for Māori and Pacific peoples including development of clinical equity measures to drive improvement and has helped increased transplantation rates for Māori across Te Manawa Taki.