Dialysis situation in St. Anthony must be addressed

The current dialysis situation available in St. Anthony is not sufficiently addressing the need that exists in this region of our province and patients are falling through the cracks, says Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones.

There are currently four dialysis machines at the Curtis Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony operating five days a week, eight hours per day. This set-up only allows eight patients to receive treatment and is forcing other patients to be sent to St. John’s for dialysis, while placing them on a waitlist should spaces become available in St. Anthony. 

“Patients are being forced to leave their communities in order to receive life-saving dialysis treatment,” said Ms. Jones. “While there are dialysis services in St. Anthony, the capacity of the service is not sufficient to look after the needs of residents who require this treatment. More needs to be done to determine what improvements can be made to ensure residents can stay home in their communities with family and friends.”

Jones is suggesting both the Department of Health and Community Services and Labrador-Grenfell Health look at options to expand the service. Whether this means training more nurses, extending the hours of operation, or putting another machine in the facility, an assessment should be undertaken to determine the best way to allow patients to stay in the community to receive treatment.

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