Hospital gets go-ahead for dialysis unit

In July, Newbury and Thatcham Hospital Buildings Trust applied To West Berkshire Council for permission for a two-storey renal dialysis unit at the Thatcham hospital, which could cost about £1.8m to build.
The unit which will be sited in the hospital’s grounds in Rooke’s Way, will be able to deal with up to 10 patients, who currently have to travel to Reading’s Royal Berkshire Hospital for treatment. Approval of the plans was announced last Friday and, on hearing the news, the secretary of the buildings trust, Nick Galbraith, said he was very pleased.
“This was a big hurdle to overcome, but it was a hurdle that we expected to be successful with.
“It’s really good news, but we still have a bit of a way to go.”
He added that the trust would be officially launching the project once it had “dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s”.
At separate meetings, both Newbury and Thatch-am town councils agreed to support the plan.
Mr Galbraith said that the Newbury and Thatcham Hospital Buildings Trust would provide £1m of the £1.8m it has estimated it will cost.
The rest of the funding would come from grants from Greenham Common Trust and various other undisclosed groups, and a public appeal.
There are currently about 24 patients from West Berkshire using the dialysis unit in Reading.
Mr Galbraith added: “If you think what it must be like to go to Reading for dialysis twice a week. It’s the best part of two days in a week.
“It’s just another thing that we can do at West Berkshire Community Hos-pital for the benefit of the local public. This will make it slightly more pleasant.”
Talks about the potential for a renal unit have been taking place for about two years as national dialysis figures increase by about four per cent a year.