Cost of living: Dialysis patient's fears over at-home treatment cost

A woman with kidney failure who relies on a dialysis machine to keep her alive has called on the NHS to help her with the cost of rising electricity bills.

Dana Holmes, from Doncaster, gets £96 a year from the NHS to help cover the costs of running the machine.

However, she said her electricity bills had recently gone up by at least £20 a month as domestic energy costs soared.

A Department for Health spokesman said it was committed to supporting kidney patients with the cost of living.

Ms Holmes, who is being treated for stage five chronic kidney disease, moved to having her dialysis at home during the Covid pandemic as hospitals looked to keep people away.

She said being treated at home meant her quality of life had improved.

"It's freedom because I can do what I want. I live a relatively normal life as everyone else does, but I have treatment," she said.

However, Ms Holmes said the rising price of electricity and the fact the dialysis machine "has to be on all the time" meant the annual £96 payment from the NHS would not now cover its running costs.

She said she had been forced to keep her use of heating to a minimum and used hot water bottles to keep warm during treatment in an effort to save money.

"We are getting penalised for having treatment at home. We want to live a normal life," she said.

"I'm saving the NHS costs, transport. I would like to see some recompense."

Pete Revell, from the National Kidney Federation, said people like Ms Holmes needed financial help from the government due to the cost of living crisis.

He said it was a "win-win" for the NHS to have patients treated at home as it saved the health service money.

Mr Revell said: "You get a better quality of life. Life expectancy goes up while you're on dialysis at home because you're also fitting it in around your lifestyle."

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said the government would help patients getting treatment at home.

They would be able to claim back additional energy costs from their dialysis provider, he added.

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