WAITING times for haemodialysis treatment at Bendigo Health have been cut to nil.
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Critically-ill patients were last year forced to travel several hours away from Bendigo for treatment because of lengthy waiting lists.
Bendigo Health renal services business manager Kathleen Fair said the service was now operating well. She said a decrease in the number of kidney patients was responsible for the turnaround.
The number of patients needing dialysis was prone to fluctuation, she said.
“People receive transplants or they move away or unfortunately some die,” she said.
Ms Fair said about 45 people were currently receiving haemodialysis at Bendigo Health.
At present staffing levels, Bendigo Health’s renal unit can serve a patient cohort of up to 48.
Ms Fair said the service had scope to expand to cater for extra patients if need be by putting on an extra shift in the evening.
Dialysis patients at Bendigo Health receive five hours of dialysis three times a week.
Patients are presently split into morning and afternoon groups, allowing maximum use out of the renal unit’s resources.
Bendigo woman Ann Logan began dialysis in September last year after a bad bout of pneumonia.
With no chairs available in Bendigo, she was forced to spend three months in Melbourne to receive haemodialysis at the Austin and Preston hospitals.
A spot at Bendigo Health finally opened up for her after Christmas.
She said being able to receive treatment in Bendigo made an enormous difference to her life.
“It’s made such a difference. When I was in Melbourne I was staying with my daughter who had a newborn baby so it was probably quite hard on her too,” she said.
Ms Logan’s guide dog Zaida accompanies her to her regular dialysis sessions and has become a hit among the nurses and fellow patients.
“The nurses love taking her out and she seems happy to skip off with them,” she said.
The wife of another dialysis patient recently surprised Ms Logan with a handmade crocheted rug for Zaida.
“It was the most beautiful thing. It was a really lovely surprise,” she said.
Ms Logan praised the staff at Bendigo Health.
“They’re just marvellous,” she said.
