New treatment centre approved

A long-awaited dialysis treatment centre will soon be available to patients across Aberdeenshire.

The unit, which will be part of the Kincardine Community Hospital in Stonehaven, was approved by NHS Grampian chiefs when the health board met yesterday.

It took the efforts of a community fundraising campaign to make the project a reality, with members of the public raising in the region of £1.2 million to help pay for it.

At present, patients requiring dialysis and other treatments have to travel to Aberdeen, which has put significant pressure on a large number of people.

Health board figures have shown that between 35 to 40% of all dialysis patients travel from south of the city, with some travelling from as far afield as Laurencekirk.

The demands of dialysis treatment are onerous, taking place three days each week and lasting anything between two and five hours at a time.

Under the current system, patients’ treatment can often take up to an entire day once travel is taken into account, which can have an additional negative impact on their health.

It is hoped the new centre will help to alleviate some of that stress.

As well as funds from the community campaign, the health board will contribute about £545,000 to the project.

A contractor could be appointed as early as next week.