Men forced to trek 500km for dialysis

[okarol]

Men forced to trek 500km for treatment

Lisa Carty NSW Political Editor
May 24, 2009

TWO elderly men have been forced to move interstate for life-saving kidney treatment because facilities at their western NSW hospital are stretched to capacity.

Instead of travelling a few kilometres up the road, pensioners George Coomblas, 78, and Raymond Shamroze, 72, are 500 kilometres away from home and they have no chance of being treated at their local hospital unless one of the eight patients on dialysis there dies.

Mr Shamroze, a retired miner, has been living in Adelaide for six months so he can undergo dialysis at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

It has eaten into his savings - his family estimates he is $4500 out of pocket - and it's breaking his heart.

"I want to go home. I miss my family, my friends and my animals," he said.

His daughter Leanne Shamroze-Barber said an equipment room had been set aside at Broken Hill Hospital for more dialysis machines but no one knew when the required $2 million in extra funding would be available.

For Mr Coomblas, two months in Adelaide has seemed like a lifetime.

"I miss my life in Broken Hill - I've been there 50 years and it's hard to give it up," he said.

His wife Toula, who is with him in Adelaide, is furious. "The South Australian Government is looking after its people - why can't the NSW Government do the same?"

On Thursday, after being contacted by The Sun-Herald, NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca announced a $302,000 grant for four new dialysis machines at Broken Hill.

But Mr Shamroze and Mr Coomblas face many more months in Adelaide, with Mr Della Bosca saying "it's expected" the new equipment will be in place by the end of the year.

"Dialysis services are a vital component of managing patients with renal disease and it's important for patients that they be treated in a familiar environment, close to family and friends," he said.

He said there was nothing unusual about NSW residents receiving medical treatment interstate. In 2007-08 about 195,000 NSW residents were treated at interstate hospitals, while about 205,000 interstate residents were treated here.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/men-forced-to-trek-500km-for-treatment-20090523-bivi.html