West Sussex surgeon who had life-saving kidney transplant praises ‘fantastic’ new NHS app

A surgeon whose life was transformed by a kidney transplant has lauded a new NHS App for enabling him to manage the cocktail of drugs keeping him alive.
Surgeon Arun Ray, 33, at Worthing Hospital using the NHS Digital App, photo by Ian Stratton/NHS DigitalSurgeon Arun Ray, 33, at Worthing Hospital using the NHS Digital App, photo by Ian Stratton/NHS Digital
Surgeon Arun Ray, 33, at Worthing Hospital using the NHS Digital App, photo by Ian Stratton/NHS Digital

Arun Ray, 33, is one of nine NHS workers chosen to star in a national campaign promoting the new app.

The surgeon received a donor kidney from his mother, Jayati, after becoming seriously ill during his medical training.

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Now the NHS app helps the busy orthopaedic surgeon stay well by providing a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services via his smart phone

Services available via the app include ordering repeat prescriptions, booking and cancelling GP surgery appointments, viewing GP medical records, symptoms checking, and setting organ donation preferences.

Arun, who works at hospitals in Worthing and Chichester, said: “I’m on a complicated drug regime and it was very difficult to juggle my packed work schedule with ordering repeat prescriptions.

“Thanks to the NHS App, I can request them in seconds with just a couple of taps – it has given me much more control over my health. It’s fantastic.”

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Arun was diagnosed with an autoimmune kidney condition when he was just 21 and in the middle of his medical studies.

Over time his kidney function deteriorated and in 2016, he began to undergo dialysis – an invasive treatment which involved being hooked up to a machine during the night.

Eventually, Arun’s health worsened and he needed a kidney transplant which went ahead in April 2018.

“The transplant has made a massive difference to my life,” Arun said. “My energy levels have shot up and I feel better in every way.” 

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Doses of Arun’s medications change regularly, as they are finely balanced, meaning frequent repeat prescription changes – something he said the new app helps with.

“With the hours I work, it’s so difficult for me to find time to ring my GP or get there in person,” he said.

“The NHS App makes it much easier. There have been times when I’m on a break from cases in theatre, I’ve remembered I’m running out of medication, I go on the

app – which is simple and secure – and I’ve ordered it within 30 seconds.

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Patients like me can’t control their illness, but using the app means I can take ownership of this aspect of my health, and that’s so important to me.”

In addition, the senior registrar at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has set his organ donation preference via the app and is urging other users to do the same.

“Signing up to the Organ Donor Register could save the life of a patient waiting for a transplant, just like I was,” Arun said.

Available to every patient in England, the app can be downloaded to all iOS and Android devices via this link.

More information about Arun and the nine other NHS workers chosen as faces of the new app can be found here.

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