News

Kidney patients wanting to dialyse from home got to learn more about the steps they could take to change their lives for the better at two special open days organised by the Sheffield Kidney Institute on Friday 3 November and Saturday 4 November.

Specialist staff from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were on hand to give patients, families and carers an insight into home-based dialysis, which enables them to plan their treatment around their own life, rather than the other way round. This gives them greater freedom, and has been shown to improve the quality of their daily lives.

During the event, two camper vans kitted out with dialysis equipment were parked outside the Sorby renal outpatients unit at the Northern General Hospital, with patients on board demonstrating how haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis work.

Haemodialysis is a treatment that replaces the work of ‎the kidneys by clearing wastes and extra fluids in the body. This is done through a special filter called a dialyser or artificial kidney. Once the process is complete, the filtered blood is returned to the body.

In a haemodialysis unit patients spend three to four hours or longer on dialysis machines at pre-scheduled times. As this needs to be performed three times a week, travelling times can be extensive, with sessions planned in advance, restricting patient’s daily activities.

Peritoneal dialysis is a different form of dialysis that can also be undertaken at home. This is when waste is filtered from the body through the lining of a patient’s abdomen rather than through a machine

Home-based haemodialysis patients may be better able to fit their treatments into their daily schedule as they can dialyse “little and often”, five to seven times a week for shorter periods of time. This has a huge psychological impact on their lives, reducing travelling times and fatigue, with research highlighting that more frequent dialysis results in an improved sense of well-being, better blood pressure control and fewer dietary and fluid restrictions.

For Roy Richardson, 39, of Barnsley, at-home dialysis has made a “fantastic difference” to his life.

“When I was in the unit I had to come in for dialysis three times a week, but the strict regime didn’t suit me and I got quite ill. Now I’m dialysing at home, I can dialyse five times a week and I can go out when I want. I’ve got a lot more freedom.”

Roy, who has lived with kidney problems since the age of 14 and has been on dialysis since a failed kidney transplant in 2008, is now back on the kidney transplant waiting list thanks to his improved health.

“I was in a quite a bad way before. I was struggling to breathe and I couldn’t walk upstairs. But since starting home dialysis, I’m sleeping and eating better, I can walk further, and I’ve even started doing some volunteering. I suffer with cardiomyopathy, and I always struggled to get the fluids off efficiently on the unit, but now I’m dialysing more often, my heart function has improved and I’m now back on the transplant list. The benefits have been amazing, and I can’t begin to explain how much healthier I feel. My health has improved no end, and it’s all coincided with starting home dialysis.”

Home dialysis has given Michael Winfro, 61, of South Anston the freedom to dialyse when he wants – helping him spend more time with his wife and grandchildren. “A few weeks ago I booked a few days in Paris as a surprise for my wife. I dialysed Monday evening, caught the plane in the morning, spent a day in Paris and came home the next day where I was able to dialyse at home.”

Katy Hancock, a home haemodialysis nurse practitioner, added: “Our kidneys function around the clock, so home-based dialysis allows patients to mimic more closely the actions of a real kidney as they are able to dialyse more frequently but for shorter lengths of time. As well as helping them have greater control over their daily lives and helping them get on with normal activities without having to plan them around pre-scheduled dialysis sessions, excess fluids are removed from their body more frequently, reducing restrictions on fluid intake which lead to less swelling and weight gain.

“I think people will be surprised about the range of options we now offer to support greater independence, including shared care where patients at dialysis units are supported to undertake tasks in their own treatment to the extent that they wish."

Sheffield Kidney Institute, based at the Northern General Hospital, treats more than 6,000 patients throughout Sheffield and north Derbyshire suffering from chronic kidney disease.

It carries out around 70 kidney transplants a year with over 700 patients having a functioning transplant whilst around 550 patients undergo dialysis three times a week. There are currently 100 patients from the Sheffield Kidney Institute who dialyse at home.

Kidney disease affects around 10% to 15% of the local population.

ENDS

Photos: Roy Richardson dialysing in the camper van outside the Northern General Hospital’s renal unit and the renal home therapies team by the two vans