KIDNEY Health Australia’s award-winning Big Red Kidney Bus mobile holiday dialysis unit will be stopping for six weeks in Nelson Bay to provide people who need haemodialysis with an opportunity to enjoy a well-deserved holiday.

From 3 July to 12 August, the Big Red Kidney Bus will be at Halifax Holiday Park creating an opportunity for families and individuals from around Australia to have what is possibly their first holiday since starting dialysis treatment.

Now beautiful NSW destinations such as Nelson Bay, will be available to dialysis patients.

The Big Red Kidney Bus isn’t a bus tour as such, kidney patients travel to their destinations with their families but access treatments on the bus during their travels.

Port Stephens dialysis patients are also eligible to access the service in other NSW and Victorian destinations.

Kidney Health Australia CEO Mikaela Stafrace told News Of The Area that she is really thrilled with the bus program, it’s a world-class initiative, improving the quality of life for those with kidney disease.

“Dialysis is a debilitating and restrictive regime, making it almost impossible for those needing the treatment to take a holiday. On average, dialysis patients need to have treatment for up to five hours at a time, three days a week.”

“A family holiday in a beautiful location like Nelson Bay creates an escape which can be a very important family event for those with advanced kidney disease,” she said.

The bus is staffed with a dialysis nurse and a renal technician who look after up to six people each week and are managed by Royal North Shore Hospital.

 

By Marian SAMPSON