**** HEALTH / WELLNESS Media Release
Expanded Dialysis Unit Now Open at Halifax Infirmary
Starting today, July 12, patients will begin receiving treatment at the expanded dialysis unit at the Halifax Infirmary site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre.
Six dialysis stations have been added, bringing the total to 18. The new space is more easily accessible, more spacious and can better accommodate inpatients who need dialysis treatment while in hospital.
“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.”
Some patients who receive dialysis at the QEII’s Victoria General (VG) site will move to the Halifax Infirmary. Capacity is now balanced between the sites, with 90 patients at each location. This is a step toward moving dialysis out of the VG. Most remaining dialysis services will relocate from the VG site to the new Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre when it opens later this year.
The updated Halifax Infirmary unit is in addition to the hospital’s redevelopment that is part of More, Faster: The Action for Health Build, which will add more beds, operating rooms, a new emergency department and new space for ambulatory and cancer care.
Quotes:
“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
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
Additional Resources:
Action for Health, the government’s plan to improve healthcare: https://novascotia.ca/actionfo
More, Faster: The Action for Health Build: https://buildns.ca/healthcare/
Nova Scotia Health’s renal program: https://www.nshealth.ca/renal-
