Manitoba spends on kidney treatment

The province has opened more dialysis units in a Winnipeg hospital and announced plans for better kidney care in northern Manitoba.

Health Minister Theresa Oswald says the aim of a pilot project in Thompson is to improve support services for people with chronic kidney disease.

A kidney nurse specialist will help link patients to doctors, dieticians, pharmacists and social workers at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre without having to travel there.

Oswald officially opened 10 new dialysis units at the Winnipeg hospital that will accommodate 60 new patients. The expansion cost the government $5.5 million.

Some 322 people receive dialysis at Health Sciences Centre; there are 1,270 kidney patients provincewide who receive the treatment.

Oswald says Manitoba has some of the highest rates of chronic kidney disease in Canada and many patients live in remote northern communities. It's expected that the pilot project in Thompson will lead to more nurse-led renal health clinics in other remote and rural locations.