No dialysis in local hospital

[wahoozer]

I can't believe that our local hospital does not have a dialysis machine or center
The people in my area go to a  DaVita Dialysis Center 1 mile from the hospital.
It is nice that a lot of people don't have to travel far for dialysis.
However the hospital does not have this service.
So when a person who is on dialysis gets ill and needs to be hospitalized, they have to travel from 40-60 miles to
the closest hospital that provides this service.
I have contacted our local hospital and brought this subject to their attention.
Haven't gotten a response yet. They have outside companys/organizations that have inpatient rehabilitation and
cancer treatment. What will it take to get them to add dialysis too?

Any thoughs appreciated.

[paul.karen]

Seems to me that ALL hospitals would be prepared to handle a dialysis pateint.
Then again what do i know.
I can understand not having an incenter facility for daily dialysis but come on at least have the means to administer it if the need arises.

[MandaMe1986]

I really can't believe that they don't have a Dialysis unit. That blows my mind. 

[wahoozer]

Nope, No dialysis. It is in a small town and services the surrounding rural area. I personally have to travel 20 minutes to get there and there are people that it services that are up to 40 minutes away. These people would have to travel over an hour to a hospital that offers dialysis.
My mother has had to travel at least 3 times from this hospital by ambulance to another hospital that offers dialysis.
The worst part is that the DaVita center that she uses is located in a building that the hospital owns 1 mile down the road.
I see no reason why they can't move this facility to the hospital.
Even if the hospital purchased there own dialysis machine, wouldn't they be able to take care of at least 8 extra patients and give jobs to 2 people?
I' not sure of the numbers, so do yell at me for that.
This is so frustrating!

[joyfulmother]

I can see a small town not having a dialysis center but ANY hospital not having the means to perform dialysis on their patients. Yes, truly mind-boggling.

[rose1999]

That's par for the course here in the UK.  We have 2 hospitals within 5 miles of us (in different towns) but neither does dialysis, Dad has to travel 20 miles each way to the nearest clinic.  If he needs to be hospitalised he has to go 40 miles away to the nearest hospital with dialysis and inpatients beds.  We have been campaigning for a local dialysis unit and it was agreed that when the proposed new hospital is built to replace the old, cramped and dilapidated one  the it would include 4 dialysis beds.  Now the governmen has withdrawn the promised funding.  We are still fighting,and have a petition at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/LudlowHospital/

[Bajanne]

How is the petition going, Rose?

[rose1999]

We have 574 signatures, we needed at least 500 to get it put before a Minister when it closes on 22 July.  Thank you Bajanne and all others who have signed, I appreciate you taking the time to do this.  Since I started the petition my MP has raised the issue in Parliament with the new Minister for Health and has been promised a written reply.  In truth I do not expect them to agree to find the funding (although they can find it forunnecessary wars etc!) but we will not go down without a fight. 

[Rerun]

A lot of small town hospitals don't birth babies anymore or have dialysis.  They are there for colds and flu and scratches.  Anything else they refer to a bigger hospital.  It is sad.

[wahoozer]

The town is getting more growth in population and the hospital has been expanding their services with new imaging, inpatient rehab center and more.
Just no dialysis.
Still haven't heard back from the inquiry I sent them about adding dialysis.
Does anybody know if there is any kind of legislation or procedures to follow to get the ball rolling?

[Darthvadar]

Similar here in Ireland...

We (very luckily) live ten minutes away from our local hospital where Mum attends the Nephrology Clinic, and the CAPD Clinic...  When she was on haemo, there was no room for her to dialyse at this hospital, and her taxi used to pass the hospital gates to take her to a private hospital 30 minutes away... This was at a cost of €78,000 per annum to the Health Service Executive... And that was before the cost of her taxis to and from dialysis was included!...

What a waste!...

Darth...

[Inara]

Not saying it's right or wrong here, just trying to shed some light on the situation: 

In small town hospitals, no dialysis is available.  The reason is the usual suspect....MONEY!!  In order for the small-town hospitals to offer dialysis, they would have to contract out with the nearest center.  That means the center would have to hire, train, and maintain staff and equipment to go to the hospital and dialyze patients.  We're talking thousands of dollars here. 

It costs approximately $500 to transfer a patient to a larger hospital with a dialysis unit.  Obviously, it's cheaper just to transfer the patient. 

Again, this isn't my opinion, it's just the way the hospitals think.

[wahoozer]

DaVita is already paying rent to the hospital to have their center in a building 1 mile, if that, down the road.
Paying to have a currier take blood to the hospital, etc....
The hospital is loosing patients, therefore losing revenue.
I would think it would make more sense, for both of them, to have the center located directly in the hospital.

Sorry, just getting more frustrated and angry.

[petey]

Our little local hospital (60 beds, rural setting, 10 minutes from our house) doesn't have the capability to perform dialysis treatments, either.  A dialysis patient cannot be admitted to this hospital and must be tranferred immediately (of course, "immediately" in hospital language can take hours and hours).

After over 14 years, the ER staff shudders when they see Marvin coming in the door (I haven't decided if they realize they don't know how to help him or they recognize that bitch of a wife he brings with him who is always aggressive  ).  Anyway, we only go there when it's an extreme emergency and we need for him to be transferred via ambulance to Duke Hospital (three hours away). 

[Hanify]

It's not feasible for every hospital to have a dialysis unit.  The cost is enormous.  My local hospital doesn't have a dialysis unit - but the one half an hour away does.  It's really bad for people who have to travel further than that, but the reality is that not everything we want can be funded.  Our system is different though - we don't pay for our hospitals like you do.  Only through our taxes.