Longreach to receive $2.7M renal dialysis unit by 2022
Residents in the central west will soon be able to receive treatment closer to home, with a new $2.7 million renal dialysis unit coming to a regional community.
Central Queensland
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Patients in the central west will soon be able to receive treatment closer to home, with the announcement Longreach will receive a new $2.7 million renal dialysis unit.
The new nurse-assisted, two-chair dialysis unit is expected to be operational at Longreach Hospital by the end of 2022.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Central West Hospital and Health Service had been allocated funding as part of the government’s expansion of rural and remote renal dialysis services.
The funding is part of the government’s $27.7 million election commitment to deliver 33 renal dialysis treatment spaces across regional Queensland.
“Keeping Queenslanders safe and creating jobs are my two main priorities,” she said.
“This investment in new health infrastructure achieves both of those aims.
“This investment will mean care closer to home for many people in regional, rural and remote areas of Queensland.
“I know it’s tough on the people who have to travel to receive dialysis and their families.
“This is about providing better care closer to home for Queenslanders, no matter where they live.”
Health and Ambulance Services Minister Yvette D’Ath said the proposed new dialysis unit would be located on the ground floor of the South Wing of Longreach Hospital, close to the Allied Health service.
“These plans are expected to be completed by the end of May, after which the project will move to the development of full schematic designs and overall planning for the new unit,’’ she said.
“This will be an extended process, which will also require the recruitment and appointment of specialised nurses to support the service.
“Nurse-assisted dialysis is a complex service to deliver, requiring on-site medical support, specialised nursing staff and access to a consistent number of patients over an extended period to be sustainable.
“Patient safety must always be our primary consideration when delivering any health service such as a new renal dialysis unit.”
Ms Palaszczuk said Central West Health had commissioned the drafting of initial structural designs for the proposed new dialysis unit at Longreach.
“Across regional and rural Queensland, 33 additional renal dialysis treatment spaces will be built and opened, including the ones at Longreach Hospital,” the Premier said.
“This project will support 27 construction jobs in these regions and see 18 additional health workers and nurses hired.’’
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