Dear James,
Further to our recent conversations I am delighted to hear that the Punchestown Kidney Research Fund will be in a position to support the Beaumont Hospital Home Haemo Dialysis Programme by way of the purchase of 3 Baxter Home Haemo Dialysis machines.
We will write a report twice a year to let you know how the programme is going. Please convey our gratitude and thanks to you, your committee and all those who have supported The Punchestown Kidney Research Fund.
At present we have a list of 15 people who fulfill our hospital criteria to be considered for Home Haemo Dialysis. They have also requested training in the programme. As the programme develops we will look at spreading out the programme to a wider population as demand dictates. Your machines will be installed in Martins 2 Dialysis Unit and in the Home Haemo Training Room to facilitate this training.
There is a carefully monitored Training Programme that all patients that are accepted on this Programme must undergo. Once patients start the training they receive an intensive 6 week course of training on all aspects of Dialysis including the principles of dialysis, priming machine, compliance with regimen, dealing with emergency, fluid assessment, administering drugs on dialysis etc. Patients are certified as competent at each stage of training and sign a contract with us to comply with this regimen.
We will ensure that a small plaque acknowledging PKRF contribution will be put on each of these machines. If you want to have this made up and sent to me please feel free to do so. Once the machines are in place we would like to invite you and some of your committee to come into the unit and meet the staff involved in the programme and formally hand over the machines and or have some photographs taken.
Once again James many thanks for your support of this programme.
Prof Peter J Conlon
Beaumont Hospital Dialysis Unit
