Why Coventry is among the worst areas for at home dialysis patients - The Coventry Observer

Why Coventry is among the worst areas for at home dialysis patients

Coventry Editorial 1st Apr, 2022   0

A NEW report shows Coventry is one of the worst areas of the country for home treatment for patients with kidney failure.

Statistics show only 1.9 per cent of dialysis patients in the city can receive treatment at home with the majority having to spend hours each week travelling to and from and from hospitals.

The highest percentage of Coventry patients receiving home dialysis treatment in a single year was 2.3 per cent in 2018 but even that was much lower than other areas.

The Bridging the Gap report, launched on Monday by Quanta Dialysis Technologies, shows overall 33 of the 52 English renal treatment centres are meeting the NHS’ target of 20 per cent and, in some areas, 37 per cent of patients can get dialysis at home.




It concludes a significant portion of the 30,000 UK patients suffering with kidney failure are not offered the choice of dialysing in their own homes.


Kidney patient Maddy Warren – one of the authors of the project – has been on home dialysis for 23 years.

She said: “Patients face a de-facto postcode lottery in accessing home dialysis, with still too many not properly informed that they have the option of such treatments.

“Where I and other home dialysis patients can dialyse as frequently as we wish, patients who dialyse in-centre do so only three times-a-week.”

Bridging the Gap also found transporting patients to and from hospital was proving highly expensive, with the NHS spending over £50million on approximately 3.3million journeys per year for the treatments.

It added that studies showed home dialysis could provide equal or better care for patients and costs between £4,000 and £6,000 less a year per patient, with those treated from home showing significant improvements to their wellbeing.

The report has recommended five steps for how the NHS could give a higher number of patients access to home dialysis, including standardising access to information about transitioning to home therapies, as well as renal units offering proactive support to patients and all renal staff undergoing updated training to enhance their knowledge and enable more positive discussions with patients.

John Milad, CEO of Quanta Dialysis Technologies, said he hoped the report would shine a light on what was needed to bring about improvement.

A University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire spokesperson said: “As it is related to Government policy we are unable to comment currently as we are in a pre-election period.”

Public Notices

View and download all of the public notices in the Coventry Observer.

Announcements

Weddings, Birthdays, Bereavements, Thank you notices, Marriages and more.

Reader Travel

Check out all of the latest reader travel offers to get your hands on some free gifts.

Recruitment

Find a career you'll love with our free career finder website.