Cogapp launches redesign of online community Kidney Patient Guide
June 2009

Cogapp is proud to unveil a new look and navigation system for the Kidney Patient Guide - a site which provides support, advice and an online discussion forum for sufferers of, and those affected by, kidney diseases. Established in 1999, and originally funded by a grant from the Wellcome Trust, the KPG has been maintained pro bono by Cogapp since it was launched.

The site's ten year anniversary has been marked with a reinvigorated appearance, restructured navigation and a generally modernised identity. The core content that visitors and community members have found so useful and welcoming in the past remains the same, and the forum where members can discuss issues affecting them remains integral to the heart of the site.

The KPG was initially made possible thanks to close collaboration with a team at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital led by Dr. Peter Rutherford and healthcare consultants Tom Bowen and Paul Forte from the Balance of Care Group. Their expertise, combined with a grant from the Wellcome Trust's Science on Stage and Screen awards program, allowed Cogapp to create the KPG, which helps hundreds of thousands of people each year whose lives are affected by kidney disease.

The site has become the hub for an extremely strong community of people suffering from or affected by kidney disease, as marked by its selection by NHS Choices - a service developed by the NHS designed to help people make informed choices about their own health - as a "key provider of information" in 2007. It was also nominated for the 'Strongest Community' award in the DiMA:S (Digital Media Awards: South) last November. Cogapp hopes the new look and enhanced navigation of the site can build on the spirit and usefulness that has developed over its life-span to date.

Gavin Mallory, Cogapp's project manager for the renovation, said, "It's been great to give the KPG site a design refresh and make the valuable information more accessible to those patients and carers who need it. All of us who work on the KPG site find it rewarding, especially after meeting some of the forum members at The London Bridges Walk we did together. It's a real team effort between Cogapp and the forum members to keep the site active and useful, and we're proud to be involved."