November 07, 2025 - 286 views
A group of renal clinicians are hoping for good charity “Vibes”, when they get on their bikes this weekend…but they won’t be going anywhere.
The colleagues, who all work at Glan Clwyd’s renal department, will be swapping cotton for Lycra and stethoscopes for glow sticks as they take on a gruelling two-hour, marathon Vibe Cycle spinning challenge, in Denbigh.
The aim is to try and raise at least £5,000 towards a new £48,000 ultrasound machine for the department. The device helps track dialysis lines as they are being inserted, perform kidney biopsies and monitor arterial fistulas for dialysis access. Having a new ultrasound machine exclusively for renal patients would be a huge boost to the service.
For those who don’t know, spinning involves cycling at various resistances on a static cycle. Vibe Cycle, which the team will be attempting, raises the tempo with techno and dance music, plus flashing lights to keep the intensity up.
All the money raised will go to the Friends of Renal Care Glan Clwyd charity. It’s already sparked a few misgivings among the participants, as it is far removed from the quiet and controlled clinical spaces they’re used to.
Renal consultant, Dr Hari Nair, said: “This is so far out of my comfort zone I cannot describe - but it’s worth it for our patients. We need to remember that every day we deal with people for whom their procedures are way out of their comfort zone.”
He added: “The difference is I have a choice to do this and two hours of physical exertion will be more than worth it if we can raise enough for this vital piece of equipment.”
For one participant, home therapies sister Nicola Roberts, it’s all in a day’s work, as she is a part-time instructor in Vibe Cycle at the Vibe Den studio in Denbigh. It has given up its premises free of charge for the event to help them reach their fundraising target.
She said: “It’s fantastic to see so many of our colleagues prepared to have a go and I’ll try not to work them too hard over the two-hour stint. To be fair, they’re all clinicians so they should know how to keep themselves hydrated properly. I’m just a bit worried in case a couple don’t make it into work on Monday.”
Renal specialist, Dr Hemakumar Mallapa, said: “It’s a brilliant reason to have a go at something different, because it’s for our patients. Anything we can do to make their treatment better is worth a little pain. That’s why so many staff have signed up.”
For two decades Friends of Renal Care Glan Clwyd has been a huge benefactor for the unit. As well as offering support to renal patients and their families, they have funded some vital equipment and improvements.
They have funded drip stands for home dialysing patients, laptops they can use while undergoing dialysis and stands for portable home dialysis machines. In addition, they paid for dialysis points to be installed on Ward 12, a state-of-the-art electronic blood pressure machine and even £25,000 for a water purification system on the unit.
The event takes place on Sunday, November 9, between 11am-1pm. If you want to support the team towards their total, visit: Kalli Mclaughlan is fundraising for Awyr Las Gogledd Cymru - Blue Sky North Wales
For more information about the work Friends of Renal Care Glan Clwyd does, visit: Friends of Renal Care (FORC), Glan Clwyd Hospital
