The Renal Unit cares for around 72 patients who attend the Unit as outpatients 3 times a week. There are 3 shifts of patients a day Monday to Saturday. The patients are on the dialysis machines for about 4 hours so are unable to walk about during this time. They use special dialysis armchairs/beds. Many of the patients have 2 needles in their arm which is used to access their blood for dialysis, this restricts the use of this arm for the duration of the treatment. Most renal patients have to follow a special diet, which excludes chocolates, crisps, bananas and some fresh fruit and they do have to restrict their fluid intake.
