Annette Brooke MP signs up to the Dialysis Manifesto

12.00.00am GMT Fri 31st Oct 2008

Annette Brooke MP

The All Party Parliamentary Kidney Group has today launched a 'Dialysis Manifesto'. The Manifesto sets out ten clear recommendations for making dialysis services fit for the 21st century. Kidney failure is fatal if left untreated. In 2005 in England alone, 41,776 people were alive on renal replacement therapy, and around half of these were on dialysis.

Enduring an average of three trips to hospital each week, for several hours at a time, can have a hugely detrimental impact on patients' quality of life. The system is too often inflexible, and doesn't always deliver the best for patients. The manifesto shows that now is the time to change that.

Mid Dorset & North Poole MP Annette Brooke said:

'In Mid Dorset & North Poole there are hundreds of people who are kept alive by kidney dialysis. They deserve the best possible care, and I fully support the recommendations of the Dialysis Manifesto which will help improve patients' quality of life. By implementing these recommendations, we can ensure that all people who need dialysis can access the services they need in the most convenient way possible.

The Dialysis Manifesto sets out ten clear suggestions for the future of dialysis services.These include free parking at hospitals for dialysis patients, improved away from unit dialysis care - so that patients can go on holiday, or on business trips - and more individualised care plans for patients.

The manifesto also makes the case for more pre-emptive transplants and for more choice for patients in the type of dialysis they receive. Over the next 10 years the number of people who will need dialysis is set to double, and at the moment there simply isn't enough units able to deliver the treatment."

The National Kidney Federation Chief Executive, Tim Statham OBE, said: 'The Dialysis manifesto sets out an urgent programme for improvement in kidney services in this country. I welcome the manifesto, and hope that its recommendations are taken seriously by the government.'