More patients offered dialysis choices

THOUSANDS OF kidney patients could be given greater freedom after new guidelines said they should be able to choose to have their dialysis at home.

Patients could avoid time consuming journeys to hospital and have greater independence after new guidance was issued by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Three types of dialysis are offered on the NHS to patients, depending on their medical needs.

Peritoneal dialysis is carried out at home and involves pumping fluid into the body to flush out waste products from the blood.

Haemodialysis and hae mod ia filtration take place at home or in hospital and involve blood being filtered by an external machine.

The new guidelines, which are not mandatory, say patients, in consultation with a clinician, can choose which type is right for them and where they have the treatment.

Paul Chrisp, director of the Centre for Guidelines at NICE, said: “Dialysis is a time-consuming procedure. Allowing a patient to decide where and when they have their treatment will allow them to lead the life they want.”

Some patients are already given a choice over where they have their treatment, but the level of patient choice is said to vary in different parts of the country.

Peter Storey, of Kidney Research UK, said: “We wholeheartedly support the right of patients to make decisions about their care.

“Kidney failure and the need to have dialysis can be an overwhelming prospect, which is why we recently invested in a study to understand how patients reach treatment decisions and how we could empower them further in this process.”

More than 60,000 people are given dialysis treatment every year in the UK.