OurTMH isn’t in the habit of giving up.
The volunteer group advocating for improved healthcare services in the Quinte West and Brighton areas has been pushing for a dialysis clinic to be installed at Trenton Memorial Hospital for the past couple of years.
However patients with kidney disease needing dialysis are still dealing with a waiting list at the Belleville satellite clinic and many have to drive to Kingston for treatment.
Now, OurTMH plans to get more people involved to convince government that dialysis is needed closer to home.
A campaign involving signs and radio commercials on Quinte Broadcasting stations (CJBQ and MIX97) will begin soon.
OurTMH says at least 80 people in the Quinte West/Brighton area are now using dialysis and that number is expected to grow quickly as the population continues to age and more older people move into the region.
This area also has a higher percentage of people with diabetes, a major cause of kidney disease, than in most other regions of the province.
OurTMH maintains it’s punishing for patients to have to get themselves to Kingston for dialysis, sometimes as often as three times a week, when there’s space at Trenton Memorial Hospital for a clinic.
Officials with the Southeast Regional Renal Program have said a dialysis clinic serving the Quinte West/Brighton area is on the organization’s radar but is not immediately necessary.
Chair of the group Mike Cowan says it has been “frustrating dealing with government as this is a no-brainer. The community would pay for the equipment and the government would cover the actual cost of the treatments which it is already doing. We need this service here.”
