Source: NS government

The new dialysis unit at the Halifax Infirmary site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre, is now open.

The space has been expanded to make it more accessible and better accommodate inpatients.

“Dialysis treatment is hard on patients and their families, who spend many hours every week receiving this critical care,” said Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson. “This expanded dialysis unit means people can get the life-saving care they need in a more modern, comfortable space.”

Six new stations have been added, bringing the total to 18.

“It makes me feel very happy to have this expanded unit because we are able to care for patients in a newer space that makes their weekly treatments more comfortable,” Lana Saaloukeh, registered nurse, dialysis unit, QEII’s Halifax Infirmary site.

Some patients who receive dialysis at the QEII Victoria General site will move to the Infirmary to balance capacity with 90 patients at each location. More services will also be available at the new Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre when it opens later this year.

This expanded unit is in addition to the hospital’s redevelopment that will add more beds, operating rooms, a new ER, as well as a new space for ambulatory and cancer care.

Quick Facts:

— the government invested $3.7 million in the expanded unit at the Halifax Infirmary

— in March, dialysis expansions were announced for hospitals in Pictou and Liverpool

— a temporary, six-station dialysis unit opened last year at the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre; the hospital’s redevelopment includes a permanent 12-station unit

— six-station dialysis sites have also been added in Digby, Glace Bay and Dartmouth, and a 12-station site has been added in Kentville, which recently expanded to add an evening shift six days a week, bringing total capacity to 72 patients

— patients on dialysis usually receive treatment three days a week, and treatment takes four to five hours