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u.k. 'cost of living crisis' has advocates worried kidney disease patients will skip dialysis to save money
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there are about 30,000 people on dialysis in the u.k., many of whom use dialysis machines at home to avoid weekly hospital trips. getty
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dialysis treatment for kidney patients takes over the critical job of removing waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working as they should. normally, healthy kidneys would turn these into urine to be eliminated by the body.
but what if you have kidney disease and can’t afford lifesaving treatments?
charity kidney research uk is warning that rising energy costs amidst what’s been called a “cost of living” crisis may have some people skipping their at-home dialysis treatments, putting themselves at substantially higher risk of death, yahoo! news reports.
in fact, there is a 68 per cent higher mortality rate among patients who skip treatments, the charity says, adding there are about 30,000 people on dialysis in the u.k., many of whom use dialysis machines at home to avoid weekly hospital trips.
there are two types of dialysis, according to the cleveland clinic: hemodialysis, in which blood is taken from your arm, circulated through a filter that contains water and salt and other additives and then returned to your body. peritoneal dialysis is done using a thin catheter that’s inserted into through the belly and into the peritoneum — the lining of a membrane in the abdomen. the catheter is connected to a bag with dialysis solution which flows into the peritoneal cavity and absorbs waste and other fluids — this can take more than an hour. the fluid is then drained.
new pm announces energy bill freeze
with energy bills expected to jump about 80 per cent in october to £3,549 a year for the average u.k. household, with additional increases coming in 2023, the average annual bill could climb to £6,000 in april, says yahoo! news. meanwhile, according to the guardian, britain’s new prime minister liz truss is expected to announce a freeze on household energy bills at roughly £2,500 per year to protect people from rising costs. the freeze is expected to last through this winter and next, with changes pushed through ahead of october when the price cap is scheduled to increase.
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and while some may argue that any help to mitigate the rising costs of living is important, kidney research uk is pushing back at stopgap measures.
“no one should have to choose between food, heat or their essential treatment and the current offering of additional financial support will only delay the impact of the crisis rather than fix a looming disaster,” sandra currie, chief executive of kidney research uk, said.
one in 10 canadians has kidney disease
what’s the situation here in canada? according to the kidney foundation of canada, one in 10 people has kidney disease — that’s roughly four million people. more than 46 per cent of new patients are under the age of 65, and of those with end-stage kidney disease, 58 per cent are on dialysis, with more than three-quarters receiving institutional hemodialysis (in hospital), the most expensive treatment option. despite those numbers, canada is a high user of home dialysis by international standards with about five per cent of people using home hemodialysis, which is promoted by provincial governments. a 2019 report in bmc nephrology found improved long-term survival with home hemodialysis compared to institutional treatment.
dialysis causes household income to drop 40%
the canadian institute for health information pegs the price of caring for someone on dialysis at around $56,000 to $107,000, depending on the type of dialysis treatment. in fact, a 2018 report on the out-of-pocket costs for canadians living with kidney failure found that of 50 per cent of patients whose household income had dropped since starting dialysis, two-thirds said it had decreased by 40 per cent or more.
“of the people on dialysis, only 16 per cent are on the waiting list for a transplant. people not eligible for a transplant will bear the burden of the costs associated with dialysis for the rest of their lives,” the report’s authors wrote.
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but there may be some relief in sight. hospital volunteer anya pogharian invented a dialysis machine prototype with at-home potential in 2015, cbc news reported. while machines reportedly cost about $30,000, hers could be available for $500, making it more affordable for people to have dialysis at home.
karen hawthorne is a toronto-based writer.
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