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Dialysis units to be added at BUH

Feb 18, 2016 | 6:25 AM

Beginning this summer, 12 more patients per week will have access to renal dialysis at Battlefords Union Hospital (BUH).

The hospital is expanding their dialysis unit from six chairs to nine after the Ministry of Health approved $600,000 in capital funding to accommodate the expanded program.

Dialysis is the process where waste is removed from the blood when a person’s kidneys no longer function, in order to prevent the build-up of potentially harmful toxins.

The new spaces at the hospital will essentially remove the wait list, according to Pat McWatters, the nurse manager of the dialysis unit at the hospital.

“All those patients were going to Saskatoon for treatment, so it will help them as they’ll be able to go closer to home.”

McWatters said the money from the province came just in time.

“Dialysis across the province and nationally is expanding because there’s lots of people requiring it now so we had quite a wait list for close to a year.”

McWatters said it’s difficult to pin-point exactly why demand for dialysis has been increasing, however with the expansion in service at the hospital they will be able to service 36 patients per week, compared to 24.

The three extra dialysis chairs are expected to be up and running by summer. According to a release from the health region, BUH first began operating a six-chair dialysis unit in 2003.

 

cstockwell@jpbg.ca