Dialysis patients have left thousands of pounds out of pocket as the cost of running home machines soars
Dialysis patients have left THOUSANDS of pounds out of their pockets as the cost of running home machines skyrockets – while NHS grants ‘don’t touch the sides’
- Some patients are considering scrapping dialysis sessions, campaigners warn
- The NHS usually awards a few hundred pounds in grants to help run machines at home
- But soaring energy costs mean subsidies ‘don’t hit the sides’
Kidney patients undergoing dialysis on machines at home end up with thousands of pounds due to dramatically increased electricity bills.
Campaigners say patients – who are saving the NHS money by treating themselves – are struggling to cope financially, with some even considering cutting dialysis sessions.
NHS hospitals usually give them a few hundred pounds a year to cover the costs of running power-hungry machines.
But the grants “don’t even touch the sides,” patients say.
Around 5,000 people across Britain are on home dialysis, with the other 25,000 receiving the treatment in hospital, according to the charity Kidney Care UK (KCUK).
Home dialysis is better for patients – as they can clean their systems regularly – and cheaper for the NHS as it saves on staff and transport costs.
Kidney patients undergoing dialysis on machines at home end up with thousands of pounds out of pocket due to hugely rising electricity bills (stock image)
But many home dialysis patients are now paying far more than they did last year to run the machines, according to KCUK.
Primary teacher Ian Copete, 41, who lives in High Wycombe, said: ‘We are now paying £3,000 a year for home dialysis – at least triple the cost of a year ago.
Fiona Loud, director of policy at KCUK, said some patients were seeking to reduce the number of dialysis sessions and this was a ‘clear and present danger’.
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