A £100,000 investment in Galloway Community Hospital’s dialysis service has been completed on schedule, and with minimum disruption.
Good team working is being credited for the successful installation of a state-of-the-art Central Water Plant at the Stranraer hospital over a scheduled three week period.
Gerry Boyle is section manager of NHS Dumfries and Galloway’s Renal Technical Services, and he said: “It was a great piece of collaborative working which allowed us to introduce this new piece of technology within such a short timescale, and we’re delighted with the outcome.”
Clean water plays a key role in the dialysis process, with a Central Water Plant required to produce water of a purity in excess of the very clean drinking water on site.
And although the system which existed at the hospital was still very good, and in good condition, technology has been moving on.
Work from February 19 to install the new Central Water Plant meant an unavoidable but brief disruption to the dialysis service provided at Galloway Community Hospital.
During this time, nursing staff altered shifts and travelled to Kirkcudbright Hospital, and others to Mountainhall Treatment Centre in Dumfries, to accommodate the temporary relocation of the service for those people receiving dialysis.
Gerry Boyle said: “Patient safety was the absolutely paramount throughout all of this, with everything carried out in accordance with Renal Association UK guidelines.”
But pleased that the new system is now in place, Gerry Boyle added: “Our new system produces water at the very highest quality, has an automatic disinfection process and requires less technical downtime and intervention.
“It’s as good a system as you’ll find within any dialysis facility in Scotland, representing a total investment of around £100,000 within the hospital, and we’re confident that it will serve us well for years to come.”
Gerry has paid credit to everyone who played a part in helping ensure the installation was a success, including staff at Galloway Community Hospital, Graeme Willocks from NHS Estates, the NHS Patient Transport Service, SUEZ Water who carried out the installation and manufacturers Fresenius.
