Self Care in Action

Home dialysis

Think dialysis and you would usually think of a patient being hooked up to a machine for hours on end in hospital.

Now, staff at Addenbrooke’s Hospital inCambridgeare working to increase the number of patients who can treat themselves at home without having to travel intoCambridgedaily.

The newly renamed Home Therapies unit at the hospital is working with patients to install dialysis machines in their homes. They are also teaching patients how to operate the dialysis machine themselves so that they can carry out their treatment from the comfort of their own home.

Helping to keep patients out of hospital

Patients with COPD and other long term conditions are set to benefit from a self management programme at Addenbrooke’s hospital.

The programme gives patients the tools they need to successfully manage their symptoms. A recent funding award means that the team at Addenbrooke’s can now develop new ways to support patients with long term conditions.

Tracy Watts, Patient Development Lead said: “ Self management is really important for people with long term conditions. As well as building confidence, it can also reduce their reliance on mainstream health services and ultimately keep them out of hospital for longer.”