FOR the second time the The Big Red Kidney Bus, a mobile dialysis unit has arrived in Nelson Bay.

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The mobile dialysis unit allows patients to go on holiday across NSW while continuing treatment, and will be parked in Nelson Bay until 9 June, before heading to Port Macquarie.

While it is great to see the Big Red Kidney Bus at the Bay it also signals that Bay residents suffering from Kidney disease and needing dialysis can go on holidays to other destinations.

Mayor Ryan Palmer told News Of The Area, “Having the Big Red Kidney Bus bus in Port Stephens is wonderful for patients and their families.

“It gives them an opportunity to get away for a holiday and we all know there’s no better place to be!! I am hoping to see this as an annual destination for the bus,” he said.

Dialysis patients, on average, need to have treatment three days a week for up to five hours at a time – which can be both isolating and limiting.

The bus is making a huge difference to patients like Joel Williams, who is accessing treatment in the bus at Nelson Bay says “Dialysis is like Groundhog Day.

“Every session is basically the same, so it’s great to have a change.

The Big Red Kidney Bus means I can have a break from the monotony of doing the same thing over and over again,” he said.

This is Joel’s second time using the Big Red Kidney Bus and he would recommend it to anyone.

The Big Red Kidney Bus is available to anyone on haemodialysis in a hospital, satellite dialysis unit, or on home haemodialysis. In 2017, the bus enabled 244 patients to enjoy time away from home, without missing life-saving treatment.

Kidney Health Australia gratefully acknowledges the Lions Club which has committed to raise additional funds by 2019 to underwrite the costs of refurbishing a new bus for NSW, as the current bus is nearing the end of its lifespan.

Kidney Health Australia urges people and families living with kidney disease to book the free holiday dialysis.

The bus tours Victoria and NSW, and patients make their own way to the bus tour locations.

Kidney Health Australia welcome patients, along with their carers and loved ones, to visit the Bus. For more information visit www.kidney.org.au/bus.

By Marian SAMPSON