The East Midlands renal group are to test the NxStage machine and I’m delighted to say it is coming to me. Kimal, the UK partner to NxStage and sole supplier are to install the machine in the Peterborough unit in the next 2 to 3 weeks (give or take) and I will then be trained on it along with a couple of the team who support the home hemo patients at home (or, ‘in the community’ as they like to say. (feel a bit like I might I am being released back ‘into the community’ – probably with a tag on my ankle!!)) Once trained, Kimal will then instal the machine at home, where, I am pleased to say, my landlord has given permission for me to have this installed in my office. (One up for decent landlords).
The NxStage itself though is still generally disliked and I can find only really two reasons for this. It is not as efficient at overall clearance than say the Fresenius 4008′s in use in the Peterborough unit, and other ‘grown up’ machines, but as I am going to do daily dialysis of 3 hours at a time while I work, then this becomes less of an issue as I will more than make up the inefficiency which is said to be around 12.5% less. I will be doing 50% more dialysis at 18 hours a week (6 hours more then in the unit), which counters the inefficiency of about 1.5 hours across the week).
The second issue in the argument against the machine is the way it is sold and maintained. The majority of renal areas in the UK buy machines and service/maintain them through their own teams of technicians, they can also shop around for the consumables from a variety of suppliers. Kimal lease and maintain the machines, so bypassing the local teams, not a popular move I’ll suggest. Also, consumables are only available from one source and they’re expensive. A more collaborative approach with the UK renal teams with NxStage would challenge all this and make way for the machine that solves problems for a number of UK renal patients who can’t go to home hemo as they can’t have the full blown installation. The Quanta machine will not achieve this in place of the NxStage machine in the more problematic installations as it still requires an RO. (But of course the NHS has been actively engaged in the development in the Quanta machine)
An open mind is required on the part of the renal teams and Kimal. Come on guys, bang heads!!
I’ll write posts once the machine arrives and give a first hand view of it and how it works etc.
Just a quick note on the benefits to me: dialysis at home while I work gets me back 16 hours a week dialysis on the unit and travelling time etc (what will I do with myself?) and I get to greatly improve my dialysis clearance and overall results – all good to maintaining good health. I highly recommend it!!
