My name’s Paul Welsh and I’ve been living with chronic kidney disease for 60 years. I’ve been lucky enough to receive three kidney transplants in that time. Many people don’t know that a transplant isn’t a cure, but they have formed part of the treatment for my condition. The main treatment for me is some form of dialysis, which can be done at home or in a renal unit.

My condition made it hard to work full time, so being self-employed helped give me more flexibility, but after my most recent transplant failed, I had to give up work completely. That’s when I got in touch and spoke to your Extra Care team, and after telling them about my financial situation they told me I was eligible to move onto their Extra LITE tariff with a 50% discount. That was a great help and took by bills from £44 a month to £22, which meant it was £22 I didn’t have to find, and I could use it for fuel to get to hospital for my treatment. 

I’ve been on the Priority Services Register since around 2003. I like knowing there’s a dedicated team I can speak to, and because they understand my condition, I know that I won’t have to explain it all over again. It’s really important for me to have water at my home too so it’s reassuring to know they’ll get in touch to let me know if there’s ever a problem with my water supply or they’re doing planned work near me which could affect my supply.