hemodialysis in New Zealand

[O in]

i get my treatment in new zealand ill tell u about how it is done here but only if anyone wants 2no

[Epoman]

i get my treatment in new zealand ill tell u about how it is done here but only if anyone wants 2no

Of course, Welcome to the forum. Please tell us about yourself, and tell us how dialysis is performed in New Zealand.

[O in]

Thanx 4 your response. 

Since my country is outside of the USA it is (by my experience) unknown to and of no interest to 90% of Americans.  That aside, and from what I have read on US dialysis bulletin boards I think our dialysis system is a whole lot better than yours.

I should first offer some details about myself.  I live in Auckland, New Zealand.  I am male, 82 yrs old and have been on haemodialysis for five years because I have polycystic kidney disease (which I have unfortunately passed on to my four daughters).

As I don’t want to bore you all to tears, what follows is only a general outline.  If you want more details on anything just ask.

The health system here (is mostly, but not all) funded by the government from taxation. 
All districts have a “Hospital Board” elected by local voters.  These boards are allocated funding by the government to pay for health services to people within the board district.

So ignoring all other health issues at this time let’s deal just with haemodialysis.   All our dialysis units are attached to or serviced by base hospitals of which there are four in Auckland as well as a day surgery/out patient unit. 

Before getting treatment at one of these units one has to go through “selfcare training” which included setting up and programming the machine and needling ones self etc.   

In the HD unit I attend there are twelve patients and we get assistance from two on duty technicians.

There is no recycling of tubing, dialysers or anything else used during treatment.

I think that that is enough for now, but I will tell you more if anyone is interested.     

[Epoman]

Thanks for telling us your story, I am interested in hearing stories of how other countries handle dialysis. So from your story if I read it right you stick your own needles? I stick my own needles as well. I am very sorry to hear that you passed on kidney disease to your four daughters that must be very hard to handle. There are only 12 patients in your unit, what's the number of people on dialysis in your country?

I hope you stick around and remain a member of this forum for a long time.

[O in]

Hi this from a research paper I dug up

Dialysis therapy for patients with chronic renal failure first became established in New Zealand in the 1960s as a temporary renal replacement therapy for patients awaiting renal transplantation. Only haemodialysis was available and access to treatment was very limited. In 1979, continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) became established and this allowed more patients to receive therapy, particularly people over the age of sixty and diabetics who had rarely been offered dialysis prior to its introduction. Through the next two decades, there was a rapid rise of at least 9% per annum in the numbers of patients on dialysis. Total NZ patient numbers increased from 937 at the end of 1996, to 1485 in March 2002.1 While this rate of increase is far beyond population growth, it is similar to the growth in dialysis patient numbers reported from other Western countries.2

New Zealand has eight regional centres based in urban areas that provide renal services to its population of 4 000 000. The majority of patients are managed with either home-based haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, with only 38% receiving dialysis in a hospital or satellite haemodialysis centre.1

[oldborris]

Hey! What d'ye know! Another octogenarian dialyser. And from, of all places, New Zealand, that little off-shore island off the coast of Down Under Land.  I'm a world authority on Kiwiland having spent a whole half-day there once while on a cruise.  Ask me about the time I bought a comb of honey in Christchurch which cost me just pence at a time when to buy one in England I would have had to mortgage my apartment.

I'll always be grateful to NZ for that.  My only problem with NZ is that it appeared to be full of New Zealanders.  And sheep.   And now, I find, octogenarian dialysers!

As for me, I am Irish [yes, yes, you can now stop bowing respectfully] and living in London to which I came to view the Coronation of our Gracious Queen and have stayed here ever since.  Nine years ago, at the age of 72, I went on dialysis.  I wasn't that keen on it at first; indeed, telling my doctor whom I fixed with a gimlet stare [difficult to do when wearing horn-rimmed glasses] that I had seen the future and it sucked.

Well, I  got used to it, after a while, as we all do.  I can't say that, even now, I'm that keen on it.  I  don't regard it as the most ecstatic experience of my life.  I don't wait impatiently for every odd day [and dialysis days are odd days, don't you think?] to come around so that I can do dialysis.  I don't regard dialysis days as the big social occassions of my llife.  Buit I don't hate it. I got, as I said,  used to it.  And now regard  it as no more onerous than a four hour visit to my barber three times a week but with better conversation.

It does, however, play bloody hell with my social life.  And my travelling.  Don't get me started on that!

[Bajanne]

Just saying HELLO to my fellow Commonwealth citizens, O in and Oldmorris!  I too was born under the Union Jack, though with a hotter sun accompanying it.  I am from little England - Barbados, in the West Indies.  However, I now live in the British Virgin Islands which is even more British since it is still a colony of Britain. We still sing "God save our gracious Queen!"  and the governor here is still a Briton.
In Barbados we have a National Health Scheme so no one has to pay for treatment and dialysis unless they choose to.  So over here in the British Virgin Islands, I got a shock when I was sent to St.Thomas, United States Virgin Islands to have my fistula done and ended up with a bill for US$4,400 (3 hours in a hospital).  My co-pay after insurance was US$880.  That hurt more than the fistula!!
Dialysis will be free here for a while, just because there unit is spanking new and the government has not yet worked out the charges.  Hope they don't get around to that for a while.
My dad died in 1999 from kidney failure - he was 89, a very strong man mentally and physically, but they played God and didn't think it was worthwhile to put someone that age on dialysis.  I still feel robbed.
Anyway, hurrah for the Commonwealth and Cricket ( and some sweet Calypso!)!!

[Bear]

I think I'll add myself to this little enclave of the Old Empire.
I was born/raised in Cardiff, but have been in Brisbane since
 1980. ON haemo since mid '05. Used to think cricket was
 just a Saes (Welsh for ENglish, like Sassenach is to the Scots)
 game. But living in Oz, you quite soon get into it, esp. the
 one-dayers. My mate (in Barry, Wales) is talking about going
 to the BVI, so I got on the web looking at the place...very nice!!
 So then I looked for it in regards to dialysis, but no responses.
 I'm glad there IS some there tho, for your sake, Baj' mate !   

[Bajanne]

You don't know how good it felt for some one to call me Baj on this website!
There is a nice small centre here in the British Virgin Islands and every now and then a visitor comes and has his/her dialysis done.  Just yesterday, next to me was an American visitor.  So if you have to come here, rest assured that your dialysis can be taken care of.

[Bear]

No worries Baj'        Hmmm.....it would be great to coincide a trip to BVI with my mate from Wales,
 knowing I can get dx there now!!!    ...don't suppose it'll ever happen tho.
This is me, btw....(I can't work out how to get foto onto sig.)

[Bajanne]

I think you have to edit your profile to be able to put your foto there.