An innovative project helping hundreds of previously undiagnosed people manage the early stages of chronic kidney disease, has scooped a national award for the city and district’s new clinical commissioning groups.

Bradford City, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven and Bradford Districts CCGs have jointly won the BMJ Renal Team of the Year award in recognition of how the project has improved the health outcomes of many patients across the district.

CCGs are the new NHS organisations responsible for buying healthcare services for their areas, taking over most of the commissioning responsibilities of primary care trusts, which were abolished on March 31 this year. More than half of the district’s practices volunteered to take part in the project managed by the CCGs, where patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) were identified by looking at trends in blood test results over a period of time.

As a result of doing that an extra 1,700 adult patients have been diagnosed with early stage CKD and almost 1,500 more patients have achieved better blood pressure control.

GP practices have used new data searches to track patients whose kidneys are not working as well as they should be.

This makes sure that those affected can then get appropriate medication and lifestyle advice from their doctor to lower their blood pressure and slow down the progression of their kidney disease, avoiding the need to go to hospital for treatment.

Dr John Connolly, the CCGs’ lead for technology, said: “The project’s results speak for themselves: more people are managing their condition and staying healthy. Significant cost savings have been made by reducing future hospital care for more serious kidney disease.”

Dr John Stoves, a consultant in renal medicine at Bradford Teaching Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust, was also closely involved in setting up the project with the CCGs and said: “I am delighted that our efforts to forge stronger links between primary and secondary care teams in the district with the support of electronic data systems have been showcased in this way.

“This project and other initiatives are driven by the need to improve outcomes for patients with long-term kidney conditions and to ensure that they receive a high quality of care closer to home.”