New data reveals rise in number of kidney stone patients treated at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds

For countless people around the world, kidney stones rank among the most agonising pains imaginable — and as someone who’s been through it, I can attest to that first hand.

While the dreaded stones are more commonly found in individuals over 30, I had the misfortune of discovering my first stone at just 23 years old while living in Bury St Edmunds.

During my treatment at West Suffolk Hospital in 2021, I couldn’t help but feel isolated as the youngest patient on the urology ward — had I really drawn the short straw? Was I the only twentysomething in the entire hospital dealing with this dreadful condition?

More than four years later, I have decided to look at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s data by submitting an FOI (Freedom of Information Act 2000) to discover just how common kidney stones are in Suffolk and raise awareness of the condition which affects one in 10 people.

What are kidney stones?

Kidney stones are clusters of crystals that form in the kidneys made of minerals and other substances — and in my case, I suffer with calcium oxalate stones, which is the result from high oxalate levels in my diet.

You might assume that the cause of these health issues would be junk food like burgers or fried chicken, however, I was surprised to discover that high-oxalate foods include things like raspberries, spinach, rhubarb and even grapefruit juice.

Stones can vary in size, and although I have never needed surgery, I have had the pleasure of passing about seven stones through my urinary tract… And yes, that is as uncomfortable as it sounds.

What do the figures reveal?

The data from West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is illustrated in two graphs below: the first shows the number of kidney stone cases treated at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury from 2019 to 2024, and the second breaks down this information by age group.

For confidentiality, exact figures are not provided for categories with fewer than five individuals.

In 2021, less than five people in my age group (20-29) were treated for kidney stones — confirming that I was indeed rather unlucky to be dealing with this condition at a younger age than most of my fellow stone makers in Suffolk.

As expected, the age group most frequently treated for the condition is 50-59 with 195 people receiving treatment over the five-year period, closely followed by the 70-79 group with 172 patients treated.

The FOI also revealed that the overall number of patients treated for kidney stones more than doubled from 98 in 2021 to 208 in 2022.

Though West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has not confirmed a specific reason for this rise, the lower patient numbers in 2021 coincide with Covid-19 restrictions that limited healthcare access nationwide during lockdowns.

According to NHS England, overall hospital admissions rose from approximately 16 million in 2021-2022 to 16.4 million in 2022-2023 - reflecting a 2.6 per cent increase.

However, admission levels still fell short of pre-pandemic figures from 2019-20 — highlighting the continued strain on healthcare capacity and resources.

The trust did confirm that the primary treatment option at West Suffolk Hospital is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) — a non-surgical procedure that uses shock waves to break up the stones into smaller pieces for easier passage through urine.

I have experienced lithotripsy once for a particularly stubborn stone I had earlier this year — and while the idea of shock wave treatment was quite intimidating, the sensation is just like someone flicking an elastic band against your back.

It can get a bit irritating after the 100th ping, but it's certainly manageable.

What now?

Though my journey with kidney stones is far from over, I hope this article reaches someone else in their twenties who might find some answers, discover a few statistics, and realise they are definitely not alone in this experience.

I have since joined a Facebook support group rightfully called ‘Kidney Stones Suck!’ which has been a great resource, connecting me with others who share similar stories and allow me to see some truly eye-opening boulders these legends have managed to overcome.

Sharing some advice, group member Jaime Cassese said: “I would say others need to know the importance of how serious kidney stones are and can be.

“They can cause kidney issues/damage and sepsis — I myself realise that now. I definitely won’t be waiting as long as I did to get things checked out.”