From our early German roots in Frankfurt, we have now grown globally, helping around 3.9 million patients every year with critical and chronic kidney-related conditions in over 4,000 clinics around the world. With UK headquarters in Nottinghamshire, and other divisions dotted further afield throughout Europe, it’s our mission to provide ‘a future worth living for’ for our patients both locally and internationally – every day.
Who is the Fresenius Medical Care group?
Led by a dedicated team of clinical and technological experts, we are proud to be world leaders in the provision of products and services for people with life-threatening kidney conditions. Not only do we manufacture the technology and equipment to assist with dialysis, but we also have clinics and medical staff within the group to administer care and educate patients on kidney health and wellness.
Currently, the Fresenius group employs over 128,000 staff over four diverse divisions: Fresenius Kabi (responsible for supplying healthcare products), Fresenius Helios (Europe’s leading private hospital operator), Fresenius Medical Care (which offers dialysis products and services) and Fresenius Vamed (specialising in business and management of healthcare facilities).
With such a comprehensive offering and level of expertise, it’s easy to see why we are rated the primary provider in this sector. Over the years, we have constantly challenged ourselves and the wider medical industry, to deliver the best care for patients, whilst also providing a rewarding, career-driven working environment for our staff. We are always looking at new ways to approach renal care, which benefits our patients and our team’s career development.
What treatments and services does Fresenius Medical Care offer?
Coping with chronic kidney diseases can be tough. We understand that a new diagnosis may incite a lot of questions about treatment and care – both for our patients and clinical teams, as they work together to build individual care plans and treatments.
We see patient care as a two-way partnership. We offer reassurance and knowledge to people when they most need it. This can be when they are first diagnosed and learning to understand and manage their condition, when we explain a treatment programme to a patient for the first time or introduce them to the dialysis regime and their clinical team. Our staff’s skills in this sector are highly regarded. If you are receiving treatment from the Fresenius Medical Care team, you are in safe hands. Similarly, if you are thinking of progressing to a career specialising in renal replacement therapy, you can be safe in the knowledge that we’ll mentor you to our very high industry standards.
Our care practices have always leaned towards the more therapeutic end of the medical spectrum and the group regularly follows evidence-based trends to promote healthier lives and recovery. We predominantly focus on three pillars throughout our care plans which encompass BioPharma (including clinical nutrition), Medical Technology, and Care Provision. As a patient, you may receive a bespoke mix of these areas depending on your medical needs. Our teams within the three pillars are leaders in their field and constantly looking for ways to innovate or modify, to deliver the very best in renal care.
For us, the patient always comes first. We never stand still or take our progress for granted. Instead, we perpetually seek to improve, in order to deliver the best possible outcome every time.
What does Fresenius Medical Care do in the UK?
We are the largest independent provider of dialysis care and renal services in the UK. Our Care Delivery division (Fresenius Medical Care Renal Services) provides the highest quality care for NHS patients close to home, through our network of 50 dialysis clinics throughout the country.
We have partnered with the NHS for over 20 years, working in collaboration with NHS Nephrologists (medical kidney specialists) at hospital renal units and our nurse-led dialysis clinics. By offering true collaboration we can deliver premium care in modern facilities, offer extra capacity to care for patients closer to home, pass on cost efficiencies to the NHS and ensure transfer of operating risks.
In another division of the UK Fresenius Medical Care operation, our Care Enablement team distributes equipment such as machines, dialysers and all consumable products for kidney patients in hospitals, clinics, or at home. We assist the NHS by providing an integrated service along the entire dialysis chain including products, services and support. By doing so, we can help NHS Trusts deliver efficiency savings and better support the patients in their care.
We are very proud of our NephroCare Value System, which allows continuous improvement to our patient dialysis provision. We strive to consistently develop patient-focused, holistic dialysis treatments. Through our manufacture and supply of products to the NHS, we assist the Trusts with a range of products and therapies which empower patient choice and deliver fluent care at the right time, in the best possible setting for them. After all, we believe medical care support should always aim to minimise any discomfort or inconvenience for the patient – allowing them to receive the help they need, as close to home as possible, so that they can focus on enjoying life as much as they can in their journey to recovery.
What has Fresenius done for dialysis innovation?
Looking back at our heritage, you can see Fresenius has come a long way to develop cutting-edge technology and dialysis machines and has made award-winning advances in addressing critical and chronic kidney conditions. From selling our very first dialysis machines in 1966 to the production of our 2 billionth dialyser by 2020 – our pioneering involvement has been invaluable. We always aim to achieve the highest possible medical standards for our patients through genuine collaborative practices with peers and the broader healthcare community.
Our proactive, reliable approach to renal healthcare is well-regarded industry-wide and aims to give patients confidence in the care and treatments on offer. Renal replacement therapy is not something we want people to face alone. Promoting healthy regimes, coupled with renal replacement therapies is one way of tackling these conditions.
Fresenius Medical Care genuinely cares and provides as much reassurance along the journey – for both staff and patients – to promote better health, wellness, and quality of life.