Services for kidney patients who need dialysis are to be increased and improved at Broomfield Hospital thanks to an allocation of £490,600 from the Department of Health Eastern Region.

Unit expansion: Looking forward to the expansion of the kidney dialysis unit at Broomfield Hospital are, front, consultant nurse Catherine Morgan with, form left to right standing, dialysis patient Leslie Matthews Dr Michael Weston, Dr Magdi Jelly and Anne Dovener.

The money will mean that the kidney dialysis unit at the hospital can be expanded and eight new haemodialysis stations can be added to the 15 already in the unit.

The news has delighted staff at Mid Essex Hospitals Trust, particularly Consultant Dr Michael Weston and medical services manager Ann Dovener, who were at the forefront of the public fundraising appeal 10 years ago which launched the unit.

The appeal, which was adopted for two years running, in 1991 and 1992 as the Essex Chronicle's official charity, was given widespread support and the £500,000 target to build the unit was achieved.

It opened in November 1994 and has transformed the lives of many hundreds of kidney patients, meaning that they can have dialysis close to home rather than travelling to London or Cambridge.

A total of 74 patients currently have haemodialysis at the unit, while another 18 have CAPD, a form of dialysis patients can administer themselves, with medical back up.

The allocation from the Department of Health mean that a further 40 patents will be able to receive treatment at the unit, which operates three dialysis shifts a day, six days a week.

"The extra money is great news for the trust and for the renal patients we care for," said Ann Dovener.

The dialysis unit at Broomfield Hospital has the first nurse consultant to be employed by the trust, Catherine Morgan.

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Published Tuesday October 22, 2002