Building work is under way at the site of a new centre in Burnley for people being treated for kidney disease, due to open in September.
The new facility, at Briercliffe Shopping Centre, will provide haemodialysis treatment and outpatient clinic facilities for patients from across the region.
Haemodialysis is a treatment to remove waste products and extra fluid from the blood, and is given to patients whose kidneys have stopped working properly.
Improvements to facilities in East Lancashire are being overseen by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is responsible for renal services across Lancashire and South Cumbria and has awarded a seven-year contract to Diaverum Facilities Management to deliver the service.
Dr Mark Brady, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Clinical Director for Renal Medicine, said: “We are delighted to see progress being made towards opening this new centre in Burnley.
“It is very important to us that our patients not only get the best treatment, but also receive it in welcoming surroundings.
“We’re confident that this new centre will offer added convenience and an improved experience for our patients.”
Development of the centre in Briercliffe forms the first phase of upcoming improvements to renal services in East Lancashire.
In Blackburn, where the service currently operates from a portable building, groundworks are soon commencing for a purpose-built new renal centre on the Royal Blackburn Hospital site with a view to opening in Spring 2022.
The new centres have been designed to enable maximum accessibility, bringing treatment closer to home for patients with specific mobility or infection control needs.
There will be enough clinic room capacity to allow dialysis and outpatient appointments to take place in the same building, as well as video consultation facilities.
Patients are involved in the design and decoration of the new centres to ensure they can receive their treatment in a comfortable environment.
Diaverum Facilities Management Managing Director Michael Hartnett said: “We are looking forward to welcoming the first patients to the new Burnley renal centre this summer.
“We think our patients will be delighted when the see the quality of the new facilities we are bringing to East Lancashire.”
As part of the contract with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, Diaverum is also opening a new renal centre in Ulverston and refurbishing the existing centre at Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal.
