I am a consultant in palliative medicine working for NHS Tayside in Scotland. I have worked in the speciality of palliative medicine for over 20 years and I am passionate about improving palliative and end-of-life care for people with advanced kidney disease. These patients have complex physical and psychological symptoms which are equitable to people with cancer; however, they do not have the same access to palliative care and often have poor end-of-life care.

I have developed a service in Scotland where palliative care is well integrated with renal medicine and I have been collaborating with international colleagues in this area. Through this work I have learnt more about areas where palliative care and renal medicine are integrated well; renal doctors receive training in palliative medicine, so that they are able to deliver good symptom control and good end-of-life care for their patients.

I am going to spend time in the USA and Australia so that I can learn more about how integrated services are developed and I hope to then improve training in renal supportive care for trainee doctors in the UK.