Kidney Function and Chronic Kidney Disease - Why It Is Silent Until It Is Advanced and Who Should Be Tested
The Wellness is the best place in London to have kidney function assessed properly, because chronic kidney disease is another of the genuinely silent conditions, causing no symptoms at all through its early and middle stages while kidney function is already meaningfully reduced, and by the time symptoms appear, fatigue, swelling, breathlessness, itching and nausea, a great deal of kidney function has usually already been lost. An estimated 1 in 10 UK adults has some degree of chronic kidney disease, the great majority undiagnosed, because the 2 tests that find it, a blood test for creatinine and eGFR and a urine test for protein, are not part of routine screening for most healthy adults and are typically only checked when another condition, diabetes or high blood pressure, prompts a doctor to look. That matters because the people at highest risk, those with diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease or a family history of kidney disease, are exactly the people in whom early detection changes the trajectory most, since the medications and lifestyle changes that protect kidney function work far better when started early than once function has already substantially declined. A proper assessment tests both kidney function and protein leak together, works out what is driving it, and builds a protective plan around the specific cause rather than treating a number in isolation. Consultations from £150 by video and £220 in person, comprehensive blood panel from £495. Fees appear further down this page.
Reviewed by the medical team at The Wellness. Last updated August 2026.
Get your kidney function assessed on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.
Why kidney disease is so often missed
The kidneys have enormous reserve capacity, which is exactly what makes chronic kidney disease so deceptive. Function can fall to around half of normal, sometimes further, before any symptom appears, because the remaining working kidney tissue compensates silently for a long time. By the point symptoms do appear, persistent tiredness, swelling in the ankles or around the eyes, breathlessness, loss of appetite, nausea, itching or difficulty concentrating, kidney function has typically already declined substantially, and some of that decline is not reversible, which is precisely why waiting for symptoms is the wrong strategy.
The 2 tests that catch it early are simple and cheap, and the problem is not that they do not exist but that they are not checked in most people who have no reason, on the surface, to suspect anything is wrong. A blood test measures creatinine and calculates eGFR, an estimate of how well the kidneys are filtering, and a urine test checks for albumin, a protein that leaks into urine when the kidney's filtering units are damaged, often years before eGFR itself starts to fall. Checking eGFR alone and skipping the urine test misses a meaningful proportion of early kidney disease, because protein leak can be the first and, for a time, the only abnormal finding.
Who should be tested for kidney disease
Diabetes is the single most important reason to test kidney function regularly, because it is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease worldwide, and kidney damage from diabetes can begin before blood sugar control feels like a problem day to day, which is why annual kidney testing is a standard, non-negotiable part of good diabetes care rather than an optional extra. High blood pressure is the second major driver, working in both directions, since poorly controlled blood pressure damages the kidneys over time and damaged kidneys in turn worsen blood pressure control, making the two a genuinely self-reinforcing pair worth monitoring together.
Cardiovascular disease, since the kidneys and the heart and blood vessels share risk factors and influence one another directly, a family history of kidney disease or kidney failure, obesity, and regular long-term use of certain medications, particularly some over-the-counter painkillers taken frequently over years, all raise risk. Older age is a factor in its own right, since kidney function naturally declines with age even without a specific disease process, and certain ethnic backgrounds, including South Asian, Black African and African-Caribbean, carry higher rates of kidney disease and its major drivers, diabetes and high blood pressure, at younger ages, and benefit from a correspondingly lower threshold for testing.
Ask whether you should be tested on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.
What the results actually mean
Chronic kidney disease is staged from 1 to 5 based on eGFR, alongside a separate marker for the amount of protein leaking into the urine, and the 2 together, not eGFR alone, determine both the severity of the disease and the urgency of the response, because a moderately reduced eGFR with significant protein leak carries meaningfully higher risk than the same eGFR without it. Early stages, where eGFR is only mildly reduced but protein leak is present, are precisely the stage where intervention has the most power to change what happens next, which is the entire argument for testing before symptoms force the question.
The greater danger for most people with early to moderate chronic kidney disease is not that it will progress to kidney failure, though for some it will, but that it very substantially raises the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke, because the same processes that damage the kidneys damage blood vessels throughout the body. This is a point that surprises most people and it is precisely why chronic kidney disease deserves treating as seriously as high cholesterol or high blood pressure rather than as a niche kidney-specific concern.
What actually protects kidney function
Blood pressure control is the single most powerful lever available, and specific classes of blood pressure medication, ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers, protect the kidneys directly beyond simply lowering blood pressure, particularly where protein is leaking into the urine, which is why the right choice of medication matters as much as achieving a target number. Where diabetes is present, tight blood sugar control slows kidney damage meaningfully, and certain newer diabetes medications, the SGLT2 inhibitors, have specific, well-evidenced kidney-protective effects independent of their blood sugar lowering effect and are increasingly used for exactly that reason even in some people without diabetes who have kidney disease.
Avoiding regular, frequent use of certain over-the-counter painkillers, particularly NSAIDs such as ibuprofen taken often over long periods, protects kidney function that is already under strain, and staying well hydrated, particularly during illness, heat or exercise, avoids the acute kidney injury that dehydration can cause on top of existing reduced function. Managing weight, not smoking, and treating high cholesterol all contribute, because kidney health sits within the same cardiovascular picture as heart disease rather than apart from it. And where a specific, reversible cause is found, a urinary obstruction, an autoimmune process, or a medication that needs adjusting, addressing that directly can meaningfully change or even reverse the trajectory.
What does kidney assessment cost in London
Consultant nephrology appointments in the Harley Street district run £250 to £450 for a first consultation before any test, with imaging, additional bloods and follow-ups charged separately, and comprehensive imaging and executive programmes at the top of the London market exceed £32,000. Below all of it sits a tier defined by its conditions rather than its price, a single creatinine result with no urine protein test, no context from your blood pressure or diabetes history, and no explanation of what the number actually means or what to do about it.
At The Wellness the assessment, the full kidney picture and the plan are 1 fee, and all figures are from prices. The Executive Health Programme, the most comprehensive assessment with full biomarker profiling and coordinated imaging, is from £11,995. The Executive Body Scan, consultant-reported imaging with full bloods and consolidated review, is from £5,995. The Comprehensive Blood Panel, including creatinine, eGFR, electrolytes, a full lipid profile and glucose, with consultation and interpretation, is from £495, and a Targeted Blood Panel from £295, with a urine albumin to creatinine ratio test added where indicated. An extended 45-minute consultation for a full kidney health review with a written protective plan is from £395. An in-person consultation with examination in Marylebone is from £220, a same-day video consultation from £150 and telephone follow-up from £59. A home, hotel or office visit is from £495 daytime and £695 evenings and weekends. Renal ultrasound and nephrology referral to a named consultant are arranged at specialist centres with the appointment booked.
Same-day appointments 7 days a week in Marylebone, 3 minutes from Baker Street.
Why The Wellness is the best place in London for kidney health
Because both tests are done together rather than one alone. eGFR and urine protein are read as a pair, since protein leak can be the first sign of kidney damage years before eGFR falls, and testing eGFR alone, which is what most routine checks do, misses a meaningful share of early disease.
Because the people who benefit most from early testing are identified and offered it proactively. Diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, a family history, and the ethnic backgrounds that carry higher risk at younger ages are all factored into who is tested and how often, rather than waiting for a routine blood test done for another reason to happen to include it.
And because the result comes with a protective plan rather than a number. Blood pressure medication chosen specifically for its kidney-protective effect where protein leak is present, diabetes medication selected with kidney protection in mind where relevant, the cardiovascular risk that chronic kidney disease carries addressed directly rather than treated as a separate issue, and referral to a named nephrologist arranged where specialist input is genuinely needed.
Book a kidney health assessment on WhatsApp or call 020 3951 3429.
Frequently asked questions
What are the symptoms of chronic kidney disease
Usually none in the early and middle stages, because the kidneys have significant reserve capacity and compensate silently. Once symptoms appear, persistent tiredness, swelling in the ankles or around the eyes, breathlessness, loss of appetite, nausea or itching, a substantial amount of kidney function has typically already been lost.
Who should have their kidney function tested
Anyone with diabetes or high blood pressure, since annual testing is standard care for both, alongside anyone with cardiovascular disease, a family history of kidney disease, obesity, regular long-term use of certain painkillers, or from an ethnic background carrying higher risk at a younger age, including South Asian, Black African and African-Caribbean backgrounds.
What tests are needed to check kidney function
A blood test for creatinine and eGFR, which estimates how well the kidneys are filtering, together with a urine test for albumin, a protein that leaks into urine when the kidney's filtering units are damaged, often before eGFR itself falls. Testing eGFR alone misses a meaningful share of early kidney disease.
Does chronic kidney disease affect more than the kidneys
Yes, significantly. Chronic kidney disease very substantially raises the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke, because the same processes that damage the kidneys damage blood vessels throughout the body, which is why it is treated as seriously as high cholesterol or high blood pressure rather than as a separate, niche concern.
Can chronic kidney disease be slowed or reversed
Blood pressure control, particularly with medication classes that protect the kidneys directly, tight diabetes control, certain newer diabetes medications with specific kidney-protective effects, avoiding frequent NSAID use, and treating an underlying reversible cause where one is found can all meaningfully slow progression, and early stages respond best to intervention.
Is kidney testing part of routine health screening
Not usually for otherwise healthy adults without risk factors. It is standard, recommended practice for people with diabetes or high blood pressure, but many other at-risk groups, including those with a family history or from higher-risk ethnic backgrounds, are not routinely tested unless they specifically request it or another condition prompts it.
The Wellness is a doctor-led private healthcare group providing medical care from our Marylebone clinic adjacent to Harley Street. All doctors are GMC-registered. Blood and urine analysis is performed by accredited laboratories, and renal imaging and nephrology care are arranged at specialist centres and reported by consultants. This article is general information and not a substitute for medical advice about your own health.
Enquire now on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.
References. NICE guideline NG203 on chronic kidney disease, assessment and management, including the role of urine albumin to creatinine ratio testing. NICE guideline NG28 on type 2 diabetes and NG136 on hypertension, including kidney function monitoring recommendations. Kidney Research UK and NHS England data on chronic kidney disease prevalence and under-diagnosis in the UK. Published evidence on SGLT2 inhibitors and kidney protection independent of glycaemic control. Published evidence on chronic kidney disease as an independent cardiovascular risk factor. Published 2026 London private nephrology market pricing.
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