Temporary Dialysis Service for Cumberland
Dialysis treatment has become an emergency service in Cumberland County.
The Province has allocated $900,000 to establish a temporary, six-station dialysis unit at Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre in Amherst.
The move follows an announcement from New Brunswick that a Moncton hospital can no longer serve patients from Nova Scotia.
Health Minister Michelle Thompson says, “Nova Scotians deserve to access care as close to home as possible. The temporary unit will improve access to care for dialysis patients while we explore a permanent solution.”
Eleven Nova Scotians currently travel to Moncton about three times each week for dialysis. Staffing challenges at the clinic in Moncton, for out-of-province patients, is no longer guaranteed.
Dialysis treatment—a blood cleansing process— is a life-saving matter.
When it opens this summer, the temporary dialysis unit will support up to 16 patients, with capacity increasing to 24 patients after the first year.
The unit will remain in place until the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre redevelopment project is complete.
Plans to improve the facility were announced in 2020 and include a new 12-station dialysis unit, which will be in addition to the dialysis unit at All Saints Hospital in Springhill. Similar units are operating in Truro and Pictou.
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