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57
GENERAL SERVICES
HOME DIALYSIS
The treament of chronic renal failure by means of artificial kidney
machines is expanding rapidly. The treatment and initial training of a
patient begins in hospital and then at the appropriate moment transfers
to the patient's own home. Hospital authorities provide and maintain
the home haemodialysis unit and provide the relevant medical services.
They can also pay for the extra cost of electricity and for the installation
and rental of a telephone where this is necessary.
Adaptations required in the home preparatory to the installation of
the dialysis machine can be carried out by the local health authority
under Section 12 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968. The
local authority is also entitled to recover whatever costs, if any, it thinks
fit having regard to the patient's circumstances and the present scheme
for financing these projects is in line with that for adaptations to the
homes of handicapped persons, namely:
Tenants of rented property No charge.
Owner-occupiers—cost less than £100 No charge.
—cost more than £100 Interest-free loan.
Since this policy decision was made a few years ago, costs for adaptations
have escalated and, as renal transplants are nowadays more readily
available, the necessary adaptations to houses are now required for much
shorter periods. In this connection and in cases where it is not possible
to install a kidney machine within a house, a prefabricated unit (Portakabin)
can now be provided and sited externally to be re-used for another
patient as and when the original patient has a successful kidney transplant.
The present method of costing these adaptations could cause
anomalies whereby some owner-occupiers are required to bear the full
cost of adaptations and others only part of the cost. This matter was
considered by the Health Committee and the Council has now been
recommended to agree to provide adaptations to houses and Portakabins
on free loan to owner-occupiers in the same way as provision is made for
tenants.
Nursing Homes
These are private establishments which provide accommodation for
various types of patients. Section 187 of the Public Health Act 1936
requires that these homes shall be registered with the local health authority.
Additional powers for supervision are exercised under the Mental Health
Act 1959, and the Nursing Homes Act 1963.