A NEW state-of-the-art haemodialysis unit is providing patients from across Warrington with a bright and spacious environment in which to receive life-saving treatment.
The new unit at Warrington Hospital, in Lovely Lane, has been purpose built and replaces a smaller unit situated within the hospital. The unit and the nursing staff have been provided by the operator Fresenius Medical Care Renal Services UK.
The formal opening of the Warrington NHS Dialysis Unit will take place at 2.30pm on Monday May 17, with Dr Gordon Bell, clinical director of Nephrology at The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust leading the opening ceremony.
Warrington Wolves RLFC Captain Adrian Morley will unveil a commemorative plaque and take a tour of the newly refurbished unit, which first opened to patients at the end of March.
The new satellite unit houses 10 dialysis stations and two additional isolation rooms allowing for the treatment of up to 50 patients per week, improving on previous care provision for around 30 patients per week.
The isolation rooms are a new addition to kidney care at Warrington and will allow patients suffering from infections to continue their treatment closer to home rather than transfer to Liverpool for dialysis. The Warrington-based unit is open six days a week providing treatment from 7.00am to 11.00pm.
The new unit is home to the very latest equipment including a water treatment system, which provides a sophisticated filter system to ensure the very highest standards of water purity. The quality of the water running through the machines is essential for delivering high quality dialysis and the water is tested regularly in order to detect any problems. The Warrington NHS Dialysis Unit also has its own designated car parking, making it more accessible to patients.
Patients receiving treatment at Warrington are cared for by doctors at The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, while benefiting from Fresenius Medical Care Renal Services proven experience and expertise in the haemodialysis sector.
Dr Bell said: “The new unit means that more people can be treated closer to their homes, whilst continuing to receive high-quality care, in bright, spacious and comfortable surroundings. Dialysis patients have to receive treatment three times a week, every week, so it important that they receive care in the best possible environment – this unit will provide that.
“It is also home to the very latest equipment, which patients respond very well to. This helps their general wellbeing and life away from dialysis.”
Catherine Beardshaw, chief executive of Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “The new unit is a fantastic facility, and the increase in the number of beds it offers allows for more local haemodialysis patients to be treated closer to home, which will considerably enhance quality of life for people with renal failure in Warrington. “
