Political parties across the spectrum agree New Zealand
needs to find chronic kidney disease earlier, but Kidney
Health New Zealand says acknowledgement of the problem is
not new and the next government must turn that agreement
into action.
Ahead of the 2026 general election,
Kidney Health New Zealand asked political parties whether
they supported earlier detection of chronic kidney disease
in primary care, routine or targeted kidney testing for
people at higher risk and long-term planning for future
dialysis capacity and the renal workforce.
Every party
agreed these three areas were important.
Kidney Health
New Zealand General Manager Madi Keay said the consensus was
hugely encouraging, but people working in kidney health had
been raising the alarm about chronic kidney disease for
years.
“We don’t need another decade of agreeing
that kidney disease is a problem. We need to actually change
what happens,” Keay said.
“At least one in ten New
Zealanders is affected by chronic kidney disease and many
don’t know they have it. We have treatments that can slow
its progression, we know many of the people who are at
higher risk and we have simple blood and urine tests that
can help find it earlier.
“What we need now is a
systematic approach that joins those things
together.”
Kidney Health New Zealand wants chronic
kidney disease recognised as a priority long-term health
condition, alongside conditions such as diabetes and
cardiovascular disease, with earlier detection and kidney
testing better integrated into primary
care.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“Improving access to primary care is
important, but getting through the GP’s door doesn’t
necessarily mean kidney disease will be found,” Keay
said.
“Without a systematic approach to finding this
silent disease, too many people will continue to be
diagnosed after significant damage has already
occurred.
“This needs to be a system-wide shift.
Primary care teams are already stretched. They need the
systems, pathways and resources to make kidney testing a
routine part of care for people at higher risk, and to
ensure people who are diagnosed can access treatment and
support early.”
The call is echoed by the Australian
and New Zealand Society of Nephrology, which has asked
political parties to formally recognise chronic kidney
disease as a long-term condition, invest in screening and
early detection in primary care and plan for future dialysis
capacity and the renal workforce.
Work is already
underway within Health New Zealand. Earlier this year,
Health NZ publicly acknowledged underfunding of renal care
in some parts of the country and said a national renal
replacement plan was being developed to assess demand,
reduce variation and identify where investment was
needed.
Health NZ said at the time it hoped to release
the plan publicly during 2026. Keay said the cross-party
consensus on kidney health should add urgency to that
work.
“We know work has been done. What we need now
is to see the plan, understand the investment needed to
deliver it and have a commitment from the next government to
get on with it.”
In May, a report by the Australia
and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA)
and the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology
(ANZSN) showed dialysis services at or beyond capacity in
Aotearoa.
Keay said the election responses gave the
next government a clear starting point.
“Prevention
and planning have to happen together,” Keay said.
“Political parties agree that finding kidney disease
earlier matters. That’s good news. Now we need to turn that
agreement into action. Find it earlier. Treat it earlier.
Plan for what comes next.”
NOTES:
Around one
in ten New Zealanders has some form of kidney disease.
Chronic kidney disease can progress without obvious
symptoms, meaning many people do not know they have
it.
The
2025 ANZDATA/ANZSN Haemodialysis Capacity Survey,
released in May 2026, found an average of 4.53 people
receiving maintenance haemodialysis for every machine in New
Zealand. Four patients per machine is considered usual
capacity. Half of New Zealand renal services were operating
above that level, with Auckland highest at six patients per
machine, or 150% of usual capacity.
The latest ANZDATA
New Zealand data shows 3,421 people were living on
dialysis in 2025, up from 3,311 in 2024.
In Auckland,
pressure on dialysis services has resulted in additional
shifts, with some patients finishing treatment as late as
11pm.
Health New Zealand says there are usually more
than 400 people on the active waiting list for a
deceased-donor kidney transplant, while around 100 kidneys
from deceased donors become available each
year.
Earlier this year, Health New Zealand said it
was developing a
national renal replacement plan to assess demand, reduce
variation and identify where investment was needed, and that
it hoped to release the plan publicly during
2026.
