Jamie McGrigor, Highlands & Islands Conservative MSP, who has campaigned in support of the local Kidney Support Group, has welcomed today’s news that NHS Highland’s Argyll & Bute Community Health Partnership [CHP] has agreed to give the go-ahead for an outreach dialysis unit to be piloted at Campbeltown Hospital.
Dialysis patients currently face lengthy, frequent and exhausting journeys for treatment elsewhere.
The MSP, who has consistently lobbied the Scottish Government and NHS Highland on this subject on behalf of these patients, says: ‘This is extremely welcome news and a real boost for dialysis patients in Campbeltown and Kintyre who potentially will see a transformation in their quality of life when the unit is established.
‘I want to pay tribute to the first-class campaigning and fundraising efforts of the local kidney support group, ably led by Councillor Donald Kelly, with whom I have worked closely on this matter.
‘Their work has brought the community together in support of this proposal.
‘I look forward to the unit being set up in Campbeltown in the next few months.
‘I also hope of course that the pilot proves successful, as I am sure it will, so that NHS Highland may be able to replicate this model in future in other communities where there is a need for more accessible dialysis services.’