A Rimbey group has taken their concerns about rural patients who travel for dialysis in front of a formal inquiry, but so far no word has been received regarding their case.
The Renal Dialysis Rimbey Support Group presented a written submission pleading their cause to Justice John Z. Vertes at the Alberta Health Services Preferential Access Inquiry, in Calgary Feb. 27.
Hours before the group was ready to go to Calgary, they heard from a representative from the inquiry telling them they could submit a written report and they didn’t need to attend.
They decided to go anyway.
“We received a phone call telling us it wouldn’t be necessary to come down but we had already made arrangements and so we went anyway and presented our submission,” said group spokesperson, Irene Kurta-Lovell.
The group hasn’t heard back since the submission was presented. However, Kurta-Lovell is pleased they were allowed to submit their concerns.
“We were extremely fortunate to be part of the inquiry. We managed to slide in there through a tiny crack in the door. We will just have to wait and see what happens.”
Kurta-Lovell also gave credit to John Church, a political science professor at the University of Alberta who helped them formulate their written submission.
In their submission, the Rimbey group gave reasons why dialysis patients should have the option of being treated in Rimbey. Travelling to Red Deer for treatment is costly, time-consuming and even dangerous for rural patients, they said.
In their report the Rimbey group said patient costs including meals, gasoline, parking fees and vehicle maintenance totaled more than $10,500 yearly for residents in the Rimbey area compared to under $2,000 for urban patients.
The time for rural patients to receive a dialysis treatment is 10 hours compared to six hours for an urban patient, their submission stated.
The report states collision rates for the road travelled by Rimbey and area dialysis patients are 60 per cent higher than the provincial average.
In its submission, the Rimbey and Area Renal Dialysis Group recommended Alberta Health Services and the Northern Alberta Renal Program (NARP) establish strategies to address the needs of rural dialysis patients in Rimbey and other rural communities in Alberta.
The group recommends AHS and NARP provide easy access to information about decisions regarding dialysis services.
Deanna Paulson, executive director for NARP and transplant services, responded to the Renal Dialysis Rimbey Support Group with her own submission.
In her submission, addressed to the attention of Justice Vertes, she stated dialysis stations in the Red Deer area are not being used to capacity.
In Red Deer, 120 dialysis units are available but are being used by only 113 patients. In Wetaskiwin 47 patients are using the dialysis stations and 72 are available. Out of 36 stations available in Rocky Mountain House, 18 are being used and in Stettler only 11 patients are using the stations, although 36 are available.
There are 1,122 northern Alberta renal patients receiving dialysis treatment from Red Deer north; 888 receive dialysis at a dialysis unit and 234 are on home hemodialysis therapy. Of these patients, 643 are from urban centres and 245 are from rural Alberta.
In her report, Paulson said renal dialysis is a low-volume, high-cost treatment.
The criteria used to establish hemodialysis services in a community includes a minimum of six patients with the standard staffing ratio one caregiver to three hemodialysis patients in satellite units.
For NARP, the area for a satellite unit to be set up needs to be farther than 150 kilometres and in SARP 100 kilometres to the nearest dialysis unit is the deciding distance.
In 2013, five hemodialysis patients live in Rimbey and surrounding area. Two of these patients live in Rimbey and dialyze in Red Deer, a distance of 66 kilometres. One patient lives in Bentley and dialyzes in Red Deer, which is 42 kilometres away. The Winfield resident dialyzes in Drayton Valley which is 68 kilometres away.
A Bluffton resident dialyzes at home, which is another option provided by NARP.
A six-week training program is offered in Edmonton for those who wish to go with this option.
A dialysis bus service was established in 2008 and two buses have been equipped with five dialysis stations.
One bus travels with staff from Edmonton to Hinton, and Edmonton to Whitecourt on alternating days.
The second bus was permanently parked in Lac La Biche in the summer of 2012.
However, the longevity of the buses has not lived up to expectations and it has proved to be the most expensive mode of dialysis delivery.
In her report, Paulson said the number of Albertans diagnosed each year with end stage renal disease (ESRD) has not changed significantly over the last decade (504 in 2001 and 506 in 2010) but the death rate has decreased significantly. In 2010, Alberta had 3,895 people living with ESRD, compared to 2,524 in 2001.
A provincial review of renal services, expected to be completed by June, is underway, Paulson said. This external review is to assist AHS with planning the best patient care for renal patients with the resources available.