PATIENTS who require dialysis can now go to Kingsbridge rather than travelling all the way to Derriford.

South Hams Hospital in Kingsbridge had its dialysis unit officially opened on Monday by Richard Crompton, chair of Derriford Hospital, who called it a ‘really positive story here in Kingsbridge’, and said it would ‘transform’ lives.

Dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood and is used primarily as an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with kidney failure. Renal patients require dialysis three times a week and each session takes around four-and-a-half hours.

Alan Brookes was having dialysis at the official opening. He lives in Chillington and used to use the hospital car to travel to Derriford for his treatment.

‘It takes about an hour-and-a-half to get to Derriford’, said Mr Brookes, ‘It used to take up a whole day, now its half a day and I can be home by around 12pm. The team at Derriford were amazing, but this is so much easier’.

June Brooks was also having dialysis in Kingsbridge on Monday and although she lives in Ivybridge and her travel time to Kingsbridge and Derriford are pretty equidistant, she said the Kingsbridge unit was ‘a lot quieter’ and she got more ‘one-to-one time with the nurses’.

Dr Wai Tse, consultant Nephrologist [kidney doctor], said she was hoping to extend the unit to a fourth dialysis machine and to offer ‘holiday dialysis’.

‘If you have to have dialysis, it can make it hard to travel’, said Dr Tse, ‘You have to plan everything a long time in advance, but we hope to be able to offer dialysis to people here on holiday, so they can stay in this beautiful part of the world’.

The opening of the unit was a joint collaboration between Plymouth Hospital, the NHS Trust and Live Well South West, which aims to put ‘patients at the forefront’.