Rankweil opens public dialysis centre with 40 treatment places

Rankweil has opened a new dialysis centre with 40 treatment places, ORF reported. The centre, located in the former Tschabrun building, is due to begin operations on October 6.

More than 200 people in Vorarlberg require regular haemodialysis, a treatment that cleans the blood. Until now, the treatment was available outside hospitals only in Bregenz and Nenzing. The new centre will have more capacity than both existing locations.

Health Minister Martina Rüscher of the Austrian People’s Party said the centre would strengthen the quality and safety of care while bringing a life-saving service back under public responsibility. The Rankweil centre will no longer be privately operated.

Its central location is intended to make it accessible from all parts of Vorarlberg and allow rapid further treatment at Feldkirch state hospital when needed. Staff from Bregenz and Feldkirch have been taken on and trained for the technical requirements of dialysis.

The centre is operated by Gesundheit Vorarlberg GmbH, a newly established cooperation between the state of Vorarlberg, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund and the hospital operating company. Construction of the new station cost 11 million euros.

Dialysis removes waste products from the blood when the kidneys can no longer perform that function sufficiently. Patients generally need treatment about three times a week. Emanuel Zitt, chief physician at Feldkirch state hospital, said about 300 millilitres of blood per minute is cleaned outside the body during treatment. Over an average four-hour session, that amounts to about 70 litres of blood.