Baxter Healthcare Ltd has announced the opening of a new residential education training centre in Swinton, Manchester for patients, the first centre of its kind in the north of England. The Baxter Education Centre offers a dedicated, purpose built space where patients who require renal dialysis or intravenous nutrition are educated, trained and supported by specialist nurses to be able to independently carry out their home-based therapies.
“Building on the success of the existing Baxter Education Centre in south west London, which has trained over 2,500 patients since it opened in 2006, we’re excited to now extend self-care training opportunities for NHS patients in the north,” said Andy Goldney, General Manager UK, Ireland and Nordic, Baxter. “The new Baxter Education Centre in Manchester provides a residential setting conducive to learning, in which patients and their families are trained to manage their intravenous nutrition or renal dialysis therapy within a group setting, helping to allay anxiety about home therapy and build confidence.”
Officially opening the education centre was Lord Smith of Leigh, Chair of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, who said: “I am pleased to be able to support the opening of the centre, which is very much aligned with our strategy to enable patients to take more charge of their own health. It is an innovative project that will provide a benefit to patients across Greater Manchester and the north of England as well as saving the NHS money.”
Receiving dialysis in hospital incurs a significant time commitment and impacts a patient’s day-to-day life. (2,3,4) Home dialysis allows patients to spend more time with their family and friends, and to continue work. Being at the hospital less often means a reduced risk of hospital-acquired infections, and better health-related quality of life. (5) 
“It is widely acknowledged by UK physicians, patients associations, the Department of Health and NHS England that home dialysis therapy is clinically and financially beneficial for patients and for the broader NHS,” said Dr Anand Vardhan, Consultant Nephrologist, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. “At a time when the NHS is under growing pressure, home peritoneal dialysis training frees up NHS resources while increasing the quality of life of renal patients and their families.” (1)
The Baxter Education Centre will accommodate training of 275 patients a year for 3 days of one-on-one training, with a follow up training day within 6 weeks of completing training, with no costs to patients apart from transport to and from the centre. The new centre could save the NHS 15,000 man-hours per annum, by reducing the burden on NHS teams and keeping more patients on home based therapy. (6)
Patients will be referred to the new centre from NHS renal units and nutrition centres across the north of the UK. On average, a referral for renal patients will take 4-6 weeks, depending on how quickly the hospital arranges catheter insertion. As access to the new training centre is covered by the national Peritoneal Dialysis Framework, additional procurement costs to the NHS are eliminated. (6)
In 2006, Baxter opened the UK’s first purpose-built residential patient training centre, the Baxter Education Centre in south west London. Staffed by experienced qualified nurses, nearly 300 patients a year along with their carers and families come to the centre to learn how to perform home peritoneal dialysis6 and intravenous nutrition. Once fully trained, patients commence their therapy in their own home under the continuing care of their NHS team.
Click for more information on the Baxter Education Centre.
About Baxter
Every day, millions of patients and caregivers rely on Baxter’s leading portfolio of critical care, nutrition, renal, hospital and surgical products. For more than 85 years, we’ve been operating at the critical intersection where innovations that save and sustain lives meet the healthcare providers that make it happen. With products, technologies and therapies available in more than 100 countries, Baxter’s employees worldwide are now building upon the company’s rich heritage of medical breakthroughs to advance the next generation of transformative healthcare innovations.
References
1. NICE. Guidance on home compared with hospital haemodialysis for patients with end-stage renal failure. Accessed September 2018
2. NHS Choices. Dialysis: Pros and cons. Accessed September 2018
3. Kidney Care UK. Haemodialysis factsheet. 2013 Accessed September 2018
4. Kidney Care UK. Peritoneal dialysis factsheet. 2013 Accessed September 2018
5. The Renal Association, 2014. Update: Renal Association Patient Safety Project. British Journal of Renal Medicine, Vol 19 No1. Accessed September 2018
6. Baxter Data on File
