Dialysis unit delay 'taking its toll' on patients

Patients who rely on life-sustaining dialysis treatment have said months of travelling across the island for care is having a growing impact on their physical and mental wellbeing.

The renal unit at Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital closed in December last year, with its reopening yet to be confirmed.

Patients have written to local commissioners saying the ongoing travel had become increasingly difficult, particularly during road closures linked to weather, roadworks, and motorsport events.

Manx Care said it "would like to reassure patients and their families that renal services continue to operate, with around 50 patients receiving dialysis treatment each week".

The renal unit in Ramsey was originally due to reopen by the end of April, but planning for a mobile unit to provide the services was only approved by planners in June.

Manx Care said renal services remained at Noble's Hospital while "additional issues at Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital are addressed".

It could not return to Ramsey "until it is safe to do so", the health body said, adding it recognised that travelling to Noble's was "inconvenient for some patients and appreciate their understanding".

But the group said they were writing "with some despair" after recent hopes of a temporary unit being in place by the end of July had also failed to materialise.

It had left patients with "no resolution now in sight".

Patients said travelling to Noble's Hospital for treatment meant spending between six-and-a-half and eight hours away from home some days, for each four-hour dialysis session.

The group said the situation had taken "a heavy toll on both patients and staff", adding that depression and anxiety were already common among people living with renal failure and that the uncertainty had made those conditions worse.

They said: "Travelling to and from Noble's three times a week is bad enough when the Mountain Road is open.

"The additional stress of having to go the coast road during closures for snow, hedge trimming, TT set up work, road works, TT fortnight one way system and, more recently, a skateboarding event, has also taken its toll."

The letter praised renal staff for continuing to provide "a life-sustaining service", but warned they were "near breaking point" because of long shifts, increasing workloads and low morale.

Calling dialysis provision in the north of the island "crucial", the patients said the current arrangements were becoming "unsustainable" and urged those responsible to find a solution.

Manx Care said: "Plans for the future provision of renal dialysis services remain under discussion."

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