Bruce faces dialysis battle
For the second time in his life, Bruce Carne is suffering total kidney failure.
Mr Carne’s health has been a rollercoaster ride for more than 20 years. He has faced kidney failure, dialysis, a transplant and now a second failure.
Early in the new year his life will be again consumed by dialysis, three days a week. Mr Carne desperately hopes he can have his treatment at West Gippsland Hospital.
The current daily dialysis list at WGH is full, with only a morning shift available in the haemodialysis unit.
Mr Carne is currently on a waiting list, with three others ahead of him.
His treatment, which will be four to five hours a day, three days a week, is tiring.
If a second shift is not scheduled, Mr Carne faces lengthy travel time to either Monash at Clayton or Latrobe Regional Hospital.
Mr Carne has written to the West Gippsland Healthcare Group urging them to extend funding to schedule an afternoon shift for the dialysis unit for himself and other renal failure patients.
“The most important thing for me at the moment is to encourage the board to put the finances into an afternoon shift,” he said.
WGHG chief executive officer Dan Weeks said his expectation was local people would be treated locally.
He said there had been a four per cent increase in demand for the dialysis unit and the hours were under review.
Mr Weeks said he hoped by the time Mr Carne begins treatment in January, extended hours might be in place
“My understanding is we are looking to recruit staff and look at extended shifts.
“We will also have a look at whether we are treating people from other areas.
“We need to review our processes on what patients are getting dialysis and where, because the starting point is we should be meeting local demands locally.
“Once demand is full for the current shifts, if the option is to increase hours then that’s what we should do,” he said.
Mr Weeks said it wouldn’t be an “instant fix” because specialised staff would need to be in place to cater for extended hours.
Mr Carne expects dialysis may now dominate the rest of his life. At 67-years-old, he does not expect he will be lucky enough to be offered another kidney transplant.
But for eight years before his transplant in 2003 he endured long sessions hooked up to dialysis machines three times a week.
He knows he will do it again, but hopes desperately he can have the treatment in Warragul.