New machine eases pain of dialysis patients

[okarol]

New machine eases pain of dialysis patients

BY EMILY WHEELER
29/10/2008 9:38:00 AM

It is hoped a new $20,000 ultrasound machine at Dubbo Base Hospital will go some way to easing the pain experienced by dialysis patients.

The Sonosite ultrasound machine allows nurses to photograph the veins before injecting the needle for dialysis. It is the first machine to be purchased for a renal unit in the Greater Western Area Health Service (GWAHS).

Phil Payne has been on dialysis for seven years and thinks the new machine, purchased thanks to the efforts of the Dubbo and Orana Dialysis/Diabetes fundraising Working Group, will be an asset for both patients and nurses.

“It’ll be a great asset for nurses, once they’ve had the training, it make things a lot easier for them,” Mr Payne said. “It can be very frustrating for the patient and the nurse if she misses a vein.

“This will be a great advantage because they will be able to see the vein straight away instead of trying to feel for it.”

The Working Group raised more than $300,000 towards new infrastructure at the renal and diabetes unit. When the funds were distributed, $20,000 was left over.

As fate would have it, the cost of the new ultrasound machine was just about $20,000 neat.

“It’s just meant to be, I’m sure,” health advocate Elizabeth Allen said.

“I’d like to thank the community and the committee in particular, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”

Renal Outreach/Haemodialysis Unit manager Gail O’Brien said the machine was a great teaching tool for new staff.

“This machine is very good because it allows us to look at the vessel underneath the skin so we can have a better idea of where it is,” she said. “Hopefully this will cause less trauma to the patient.

“It can be a very difficult procedure to do, and first-time patients often have very small blood vessels that can be very difficult to feel.”

Ms O’Brien said the ultrasound allowed nurses to see how the big the vessel was and it can photograph the needle actually going in to a patient’s arm.

emily.wheeler@ruralpress.com

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