Media Release

Dialysis adds three new satellite centres to bring services close to home

30 September 2007

North West Dialysis Service (NWDS) is constantly seeking ways to make dialysis services more accessible to patients, bringing facilities close to where they live in north-west metropolitan Melbourne and in country Victoria and southern New South Wales.

Already Australia’s largest provider of renal replacement therapies, NWDS coordinates home dialysis and a network of satellite centres which means patients can stay in their communities, avoiding the time and inconvenience of a long journey, to have their life-saving dialysis treatment three times a week.

It is also expanding to meet growing demand - at 30 June 2007, NWDS had 697 patients receiving dialysis treatment, reflecting a 2.8 per cent increase on the previous year.

The latest additions to the network have been:

• Melton Health Superclinic (in conjunction with Djerriwarrh Health, replacing the smaller
   Bacchus Marsh unit);

• Craigieburn Health Superclinic (Northern Health); and

• Nhill (West Wimmera Health Service).

This brings the number of satellite dialysis facilities to seven metropolitan centres and
23 regional satellite centres. They are all linked to the central hub at RMH City Campus.

NWDS has also amalgamated its home dialysis training services at RMH Royal Park Campus. The Home Dialysis Service provides education and training for clinically suitable patients to enable them to dialyse independently at home.