The kidney's job is to remove waste products and excess water from the blood. Patients with severe kidney failure lose this ability and over a period of time may develop symptoms including tiredness, loss of appetite, drowsiness, vomiting, swelling and difficulty breathing. Haemodialysis is a process by which a machine acting as an artificial kidney cleans the blood of waste substances.
Blood is removed from the body via special tubing into the machine where it is filtered of impurities and excess water and returned to the body.
It takes between five to six hours to "clean" all the blood; dialysis is usually required two to three times a week. The alternative to dialysis treatment is a kidney transplant. Although this procedure is suitable for some it is not an option for others who will require ongoing dialysis treatment to enable them to live.
The suggestion by Beaumont hospital that it might terminate night-time dialysis for the 70-80 patients who currently avail of the service is an extraordinary one.
Such a move would be serious for these patients and its inclusion in the list of possible future cutbacks must be deeply worrying for dialysis patients and their families.