Published on: 22 January 2026
The first specialists trained in Sunderland as part of a groundbreaking training course are now set to put their skills to use following their graduation.
The Interventional Nephrology PGCert course was developed by South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT) and Newcastle University. It was taught within the Renal Unit at Sunderland Royal Hospital.
An estimated 7.2 million people in the UK have chronic kidney disease (CKD), while 20 people a day develop kidney failure, while almost 32,000 people are on dialysis, according to Kidney Care UK.
The course’s first five students - all higher speciality trainees in kidney medicine –built on their careers by completing the two-year programme.
They celebrated their achievement with a graduation ceremony hosted by Newcastle University and attended by consultants who helped them on their journey.
The course develops a student’s skills in interventional nephrology. This is an area of care which deals with procedures related to dialysis and investigations in kidney medicine, such as ultrasound and kidney biopsies.
The qualification also includes training on catheters for dialysis and sometimes chemotherapy. Students learn how to perform radiological assessments of arteriovenous fistulas (AVF), which is another way of access to the body’s network of blood vessels when people need dialysis.
Course faculty members, including Dr James Andrews, Dr Saeed Ahmed, Dr Sarah McCloskey, Dr Shalabh Srivastava and Dr Rauri Clark with current cohort of students.
A further two intakes of 10 students – the maximum possible - have been recruited since the course’s launch. These include two students who have moved to the UK with their families so they can undertake the training, one from Malaysia and the other from Saudi Arabia.
Students have started to publish their course projects as they share their learning with peers. Course leaders have contributed to two chapters in a book, Essentials of Interventional Nephrology, as part of an international collaboration.
The Trust team behind the qualification are working to build on its international reputation. Discussions are underway with healthcare organisations in Malaysia, India and a project in Tanzania, led by Consultant Nephrologist Dr Jennifer Whitehead, about future links.
Dr Shalabh Srivastava, who is one of the Trust’s Consultant Interventional Nephrologists, conceived and developed the course.
He said:
"It is a great sense of achievement to see this cohort through as there is no equivalent programme anywhere in the world.
"We aim to ensure that our programme continues to push the boundaries of interventional nephrology research and training in UK.
"As well as helping to train these specialists, we’ve learned a lot from this experience and have started this new programme from scratch, ensuring it is sustainable and deliverable.
"Ultimately our aim is to ensure that through the skills learnt from this programme, kidney patient care is improved all over the country.
"We would also like to continue to grow the impact of this programme. As part of this, we want to set up national guidance around the management of patients who need procedures to treat their kidney conditions so that they can live better and longer."
Professor Paul Paes, Head of School of Medicine at Newcastle University, said:
"This is a truly innovative course that will make a difference to the care of patients with kidney disease.
"Our aim as a Medical School is to improve the health of our population through training health professionals of the highest quality. Newcastle University and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust have been working in partnership for a long time to train the region’s doctors.
"This is a further step in that partnership to improve an area of specialist care that will make an impact locally, nationally and internationally. Having our first set of graduates is an exciting moment."
The first graduates include a student from STSFT’s own Renal Team, Dr David Rudman. He was joined by fellow Consultant Nephrologists Dr Mohammed Boshara from South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Dr Philippa Brown from Bradford Royal Infirmary; Dr Ismet Boral, an Acting Consultant Nephrologist at Nottingham University NHS Trust, and Dr Yimeng Zhang, a Renal Higher Specialty Trainee from the West Midland Deanery.
From left to right, Dr David Rudman, Dr Saeed Ahmed, Dr Ismet Boral, Dr Philippa Brown, Dr Mohammed Boshara, Dr Shalabh Srivastava and Dr Yimeng Zhang following the graduation ceremony at Newcastle University.
The course has been backed by a team of faculty members with STSFT. In addition to Dr Srivastava, the degree programme director, this includes Dr James Andrews, who is the module leader for ultrasound, Dr Saeed Ahmed, the module leader for peritoneal dialysis and kidney biopsy, Dr Sarah McCloskey, the module leader for simulation and Dr Rauri Clark, module leader for Vascular Access.
Over the five years that it took to develop the course it also received support from the Trust and Newcastle University leadership and Renal Business Managers Chris Black, Liam McManus and Jen McArdle.
More details about the course can be found here: Interventional Nephrology, PGCert
