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AAP
AAP
Health
William Ton

Kidney bus unlocks travel for patients

Kidney patients can travel around NSW with a new Big Red Kidney Bus providing dialysis treatment. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Mailah Hosteng was once an avid world traveller, but that all changed after suffering kidney failure.

She now needs kidney dialysis three times a week and the logistics have made travelling all but impossible.

"Before I got sick, I travelled a lot because my husband works overseas," Ms Hosteng told AAP on Tuesday.

"He told me he wanted me to come with him but having to book into multiple hospitals and the costs associated with the treatment, I told him I'd rather stay."

More than 14,500 Australians require daily dialysis to clean their blood because of kidney disease.

With an average of three visits to hospital a week and about 60 hours strapped to a machine each month, holidays are difficult.

However, people can start making travel plans again without having to worry about missing their dialysis treatment.

Kidney Health Australia unveiled its new Big Red Kidney Bus in Sydney on Tuesday, an upgraded vehicle fitted with three dialysis machines to travel across NSW, settling at different locations for six weeks at a time.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the return of the bus would make a huge difference to people with kidney disease yearning for adventure.

"This bus brings back the opportunity for holidays and fun to patients who otherwise might be locked into attending a particular dialysis hospital facility or community health facility," he said.

With plans to travel to Melbourne where another bus is expected to be based, Ms Hosteng says she is excited to be on the move again.

"I feel more safe in the bus than in some hospitals where I've travelled before," she said.

So far the bus has helped facilitate more than 1500 dialysis sessions since it hit the road in 2017.

Kidney Health Australia CEO Chris Forbes says the return of the bus will be life-changing for those who require dialysis.

"They're very much restricted to their postcode. They can't get away from the local regional unit," he said.

"This allows them to go not only themselves, but with their family and friends, and they can create family memories in a regional location."

The Big Red Kidney Bus services NSW and Victoria, but Mr Forbes says his team is looking at expressions of interest in other states to roll out holiday dialysis buses.

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