Kidney Failure and Dialysis

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (15:48): I rise today to speak about something very personal that has recently impacted my life. Earlier this year, I took time away from this chamber to have one of my kidneys removed due to cancer. Since then, I have been in and out of hospital from issues related to my chronic kidney disease and renal failure. Luckily, I now am on a stable treatment plan, accessing dialysis services three times a week.

Although dialysis will not repair my kidney function, it has allowed me to go back to work and be able to return to a semblance of normal life. I am one of approximately 1,000 people who undertake long-term dialysis either at home or, more predominantly, in a facility to manage kidney function in this state. The number of people with kidney dysfunction and failure who receive dialysis has been doubling between 2000 to 2020, from 6,400 to 14,600, and this number continues to rise. We don't have enough chairs and beds for dialysis.

Even though dialysis was the leading cause of same-day hospitalisation in Australia in 2019-20, kidney and renal failure often don't capture the attention of the public like other illnesses such as breast cancer, prostate cancer or heart disease. To be honest, before I was required to have dialysis, I was also unaware of how many people are living with kidney and renal failure.

The impact this treatment has had on me, and for those who I attend the clinic with, has given us the ability to return to work, spend time with our children, grandchildren and friends, and pursue hobbies and interests. Dialysis is our lifeline. For some receiving dialysis it is harder than others. With limited dedicated dialysis facilities around the metropolitan area, and even fewer facilities in rural areas, some patients travel great lengths to attend or are unable to receive their required treatment. Further, this is compounded by the fact that both public and private metropolitan adult dialysis units are now working at or above their capacity, and it is creating enormous stress on treatment options for patients.

Dialysis treatment options are by no means patient centred. Rather, it is a matter of fitting in with clinic schedules. Clearly, prevention is the goal to ensure that the number of people receiving dialysis lessens over time; however, education measures to date have been underfunded and under resourced. There is an immediate problem in serving those patients who require dialysis for the rest of their life or whilst awaiting an organ donor for transplant, which may take years or may never occur.

Whilst I recognise that more dialysis facilities are only a temporary solution, even with the best prevention care unfortunately many people will require dialysis. Whilst home dialysis may be an option it is not necessarily ideal. My dialysis nurses have difficulty needling me from time to time. I am not prepared to do the needling myself. It is a matter of capacity and choice. We have an immediate need to increase dialysis capacity to ensure patients who require dialysis can do so.