CHRONIC kidney patients will no longer have to face arduous journeys from Wyre Forest when a new £635,000 dialysis unit is set up at Kidderminster Hospital in January.
A spokeswoman for Worcestershire NHS Trust said plans to install the 12-bed unit at the hospital were now "well-advanced", meaning an end to long journeys for about 30 patients.
At present, sufferers requiring dialysis have to travel to Dudley, Birmingham, Hereford or Gloucester, three or four times a week for treatment.
The spokeswoman said: "Certain patients with chronic renal conditions, who are assessed by renal specialists in Dudley and Birmingham as suitable for this form of treatment, will be offered a place at Kidderminster."
She added by the end of 2002 the new unit should be treating more than 50 patients.
The unit will be equipped, staffed and managed by Baxter Healthcare Renal Therapy Services which has been providing dialysis services with the NHS since 1985.
The unit, which will be funded through £635,000 worth of NHS modernisation funds, will be the first in Worcestershire to offer a comprehensive range of renal services.
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