Scanner boost for dialysis patients

PATIENTS receiving dialysis at Carmarthen’s Glangwili Hospital are benefiting from a new ultrasound scanner purchased with charitable funds.

The scanner has enabled the renal dialysis unit to deliver its service locally and minimise the amount of travelling time for dialysis patients.

In order to receive dialysis, renal patients must be given an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) which gives access to the blood system.

An AVF is a passageway between an artery and a vein which is surgically created for dialysis treatments. To ensure that dialysis is effective the AVFs need to be assessed regularly.

This is where the new ultrasound scanner comes in as it provides staff with the means to visualise the AVFs and gauge how well they are working.

Previously the unit used an ultrasound scanner on loan for limited times from Swansea’s Morriston Hospital.

Alternatively, assessing the AVFs entailed patients making regular visits to Morriston Hospital, which posed real challenges to patients who were often frail and found the additional travel difficult.

Thanks to generous donations to Hywel Dda Health Charities, the official charity of Hywel Dda University Health Board, the Glangwili unit has been able to purchase its own scanner.

Delyth Timmis, senior clinic manager, said: “We are delighted to have been able to purchase the ultrasound scanner with charitable funds.

“It is delivering real benefits for patients and staff, ensuring people can receive treatment as close to home as possible, and enabling us to assess patients within the unit.”