Around 50 Hutt Valley patients, and four from the Wairarapa, currently travel to Wellington or Porirua.
“Patients typically require dialysis three times a week, and having to travel all the way to Wellington Regional Hospital or Kenepuru Community Hospital can be hugely difficult – especially for those who struggle to make travel arrangements,” says HVDHB and CCDHB Director of Provider Services Joy Farley.
“Just before Christmas, the Capital & Coast DHB and Hutt Valley DHB Boards gave approval for a new satellite dialysis unit to be set up at the Hutt Valley Health Hub next to Hutt Hospital. This means we can provide outpatient dialysis closer to patients’ homes and significantly reduce the need for them to travel.”
As well as the shorter commute, patients will also benefit from the services provided by the Health Hub’s other tenants – the Ropata Medical Centre, Ropata Specialist Centre, a dentist, a pharmacy, a café, and a childcare facility.
Having another dialysis unit will also bring some new opportunities for staff as we increase staffing levels in some of our professional groups.
“We are still some way from opening the unit to patients in July, and are still working through exactly how the unit will look and function.
“This is an exciting new development and we are committed to making sure it works for patients and staff. Our focus over the coming months will be to engage with staff, unions, and others to look at how we can ensure this happens. We will work collaboratively to finalise details and then share them as progress is made.”
