Assistant scheme eases workload of public renal dialysis nurses

Well-trained health care assistants are sharing the workload of nurses in public renal dialysis centres as the number of patients rises, the Hospital Authority says.

Hong Kong's first pilot scheme for health care assistants in renal dialysis centres was launched at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital to relieve frontline nurses' workloads as the number of patients with late-phase renal failure had nearly doubled in the past decade.

Alex Yu Wai-Yin, chief of renal services at the hospital, said the number of patients suffering from end-stage renal failure rose from 3,500 in 1996 to 6,800 last year.

Of them, 700 required haemodialysis at hospitals. Haemodialysis is a method for removing waste products such as potassium and urea from the blood when the kidneys become incapable of doing it.

The authority started training health care assistants to help nurses in haemodialysis in 2002.

After five weeks of training, the assistants were able to help set up haemodialysis machines and monitor patients' conditions.

The number of trained assistants jumped from seven in 2002 to 30 last year. They now work in 12 haemodialysis units under the authority.