Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi has launched an overnight dialysis service to help patients who benefit from a longer and gentler dialysis process.
The overnight dialysis is being made available by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) Kidney Care (SKC) at its Mafraq facility, with the public health provider saying it could be extended to other facilities in future.
Overnight haemodialysis, also referred to as nocturnal haemodialysis, is carried out at night whilst the patient is asleep. Since patients with severe renal conditions often spend hours attached to the machine in a dialysis center, usually three times a week, overnight dialysis offers patients more time to themselves in the day.
This form of dialysis is potentially gentler on the body with several patients claiming improved energy levels, fewer medications, and less dietary restrictions from having longer dialysis sessions. Additionally, longer haemodialysis sessions may improve heart damage caused by high blood pressure, in addition to offering better phosphate control. It can also occasionally result in a faster recovery time, as patients undergoing nocturnal haemodialysis report experiencing less fatigue than those on conventional haemodialysis daytime sessions.
“Overnight haemodialysis offers patients with severe kidney conditions, several social and medicinal benefits. We are exceptionally proud to launch this service which further cements our commitment to meeting the diverse needs of the community we serve. This is a tremendous boost to UAE’s renal care services, and we believe the community will benefit greatly from this new treatment option. While the new service is available at SKC Central, we are planning to expand the reach further to make it more accessible for our patients,” said Dr Stephen Holt, professor director and chief executive officer at SKC.
The services are open for any renal patient on regular haemodialysis wishing to dialyse overnight, provided they are eligible to undergo dialysis in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, patients will need to commute to and from the dialysis centre in Mafraq on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings.
The SKC centre provides patients with quality bed and linen, low lighting to facilitate sleep, earplugs, monitoring systems, and meals or snacks as needed to make their experience as comfortable as possible.
