There are three main renal units in BCUHB situated in the acute hospital settings of Ysbyty Gwynedd, Glan Clwyd Hospital and Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
Acute and chronic dialysis are provided on all three sites and chronic haemodialysis is also provided at Ysbyty Alltwen and at Welshpool in North Powys supervised by the Wrexham unit. The geographical spread of units means that very few people who live in North Wales are more than thirty minutes travelling time from a dialysis facility and we aim to provide some holiday dialysis for patients from other parts of the UK. Altogether the BCUHB renal service supervises 75 dialysis stations on five sites, for a local population of about 750,000.
Within each of the three main units there are staff to train patients for home dialysis treatments and also to provide plasma exchange for patients with life-threatening vasculitic, renal and neurological problems.
There is 24-hour consultant cover on each of the three acute sites. This is provided by a rota involving the six consultants who are based in the northern corridor (which serves Ysbyty Alltwen, Ysbyty Gwynedd and Glan Clwyd Hospital) and a separate rota among the five consultants who cover the southern corridor (Wrexham Maelor Hospital and Welshpool).
Investigation of the patient with renal disease is done in close conjunction with the immunology service based in Glan Clwyd Hospital and the pathology department based in Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor. Ultrasound scanning is available in most peripheral clinics and CT, CT Spect, MRI, angiography, stenting and nuclear medicine is done on all three acute sites.
Access to consultant-delivered clinics has been improved in the last three years with the opening of new clinics in Dolgellau, Tremadog, Llandudno, Colwyn Bay, Ruthin, Holywell, Mold, Deeside and Welshpool.
Renal patients have access to specialty-dedicated Dieticians, Social Workers and Clinical Psychologists. Renal Specialist Nurses (CKD Nurses), most with prescribing rights, help to identify and manage patients with progressive renal disease in primary care and to supervise the treatment of hypertension and renal anaemia in this high risk group. Timely referral for pre-emptive transplantation or dialysis is the aim.