Welcome to Plymouth Dialysis Unit
Date issued: September 2023
For review: September 2025
Ref: Ref: B-375/Renal/KH/Welcome to Plymouth Dialysis Unit v6
PDF: Welcome to Plymouth dialysis unit final September 2023 v6.pdf[pdf] 639KB
At Plymouth Dialysis Unit we care for patients who are receiving treatment for Chronic Kidney Failure. We have two teams, one caring for patients choosing to dialyse by Haemodialysis and one for Peritoneal Dialysis.
We are a nurse led unit with a mix of dialysis trained staff. We do not have any doctors on site. However, our renal consultants visit the unit on a weekly basis.
Opening Hours
Monday /Wednesday /Friday 7am to midnight
Tuesday /Thursday /Saturday 7am to 8pm
Sunday Closed
Points of Contact
Nursing and Allied professions Lead Nurse
Lead Nurse for Dialysis /CKD/ AKI Jen McDermott 01752 431700/ 01752431689
Dialysis Unit Manager: Diana Catrina 01752 431700/ 01752 431689
Junior Sister Haemodialysis: Daniel Bates, Lisa Patten, James Ashford 01752 431700/ 01752 431690
Junior Sister for Peritoneal Dialysis: Sharon Lang 01752 431700 / 01752 431692
Mayflower Ward Derriford Out of Hours: 01752 431485
Renal Dietitian: Sandra Wood/ Annie Hinchcliffe 01752 439961
We appreciate that starting dialysis can be a stressful time for you and therefore we encourage your relatives to be involved in your treatment if they so wish. If they want to know more about dialysis and how they can get involved, please do not hesitate to speak to one of the nursing team.
During the treatment they are more than welcome to accompany you, for the first 2 weeks, however, there are restrictions around their presence whilst we connect and disconnect from the dialysis machine.
This is to reduce the risk of incidents to yourself and others. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the service it can be a very daunting environment for a child or young person and therefore we do not encourage their presence.
We provide televisions, however for the comfort of all patients we require the televisions to be used with headphones. This applies to all patients. If you would like to watch the televisions, we would ask you to bring your own headphones.
We would suggest you purchase a good quality set of headphones with built in volume control and a two-metre connection lead. You may also wish to bring your own universal remote control for ease of use. you will need to be taken home at the end of each session.
Some patients can feel cold during dialysis and therefore we advise patients to bring their own blanket/pillow, unfortunately due to limited storage space at the unit any personal items brought with
Once you get accustomed to your dialysis treatment there are other options available to you. This would be with the agreement of your renal consultant:
Home Dialysis
Peritoneal Dialysis:
A dialysis technique that uses the patient’s own body tissues inside the abdominal cavity as a filter. A plastic tube called a dialysis catheter is surgically placed through the abdominal wall, into the abdominal cavity. Dialysis is performed through this catheter either manually by Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) or by machine Automated Peritoneal Dialysis (APD)
If you would like further details on this form of dialysis, please ask any member of staff who will arrange for our Peritoneal Dialysis Team to talk to you.
Haemodialysis at Home:
Depending on your circumstances you may be able to have a machine at home and dialyse daily.
For this option you usually need to have someone at home who can be with you during your treatment.
Our home dialysis team will support you throughout the whole process, from training you on using the machine, to arranging the equipment at home.
For further details please ask to speak to Diana or Jen who will give you further information.
Haemodialysis at Home:
Depending on your circumstances you may be able to have a machine at home and dialyse daily.
For this option you usually need to have someone at home who can be with you during your treatment. Our home dialysis team will support you throughout the whole process, from training you on using the machine, to arranging the equipment at home.
For further details please ask to speak to Diana or Jen who will give you further information.
Holiday Dialysis
It is possible for patients to visit other units for their treatment within the United Kingdom and Europe enabling them to go away on holiday. This needs to be planned well in advance and you should arrange your dialysis treatment prior to booking your holiday. If you are interested in finding out more details, please ask any member of staff who will advise you.
We offer holiday dialysis to patients who wish to visit Devon and Cornwall. We have slots available at Plymouth Dialysis Unit on a Monday /Wednesday /Friday at 7pm.
Shared Care Haemodialysis
As you settle into your dialysis treatment you may feel you would like to participate in shared care. This can involve you doing as much or as little as you want towards your treatment.
The staff will support and help train you in each aspect of care you wish to undertake. If you would like further information, please ask a member of the nursing team.
Satellite Units
If you need to travel a long distance to attend the Plymouth Dialysis Unit, did you know we also offer dialysis treatments at Kingsbridge, Holsworthy, Saltash, Torbay and Bodmin.
These units provide dialysis treatment depending on their availability. If you feel this would be beneficial to you please ask a member of staff for further information.
Saltash:
This unit is based in The Saltash Health Centre and is a 3-chair unit.
Holsworthy industrial area and is a 4 Chair unit.
Holsworthy:
This unit is based in Holsworthy industrial area and is a 4-chair unit.
Kingsbridge:
This unit is based in Kingsbridge hospital and is a 4-chair unit.
We want your experience at Plymouth Dialysis Unit to be positive and we work hard as a team to make this possible. Please feel free to let us know if you have any concerns, questions, or praise. Our nursing staff are here to listen and support you and we will endeavour to resolve any issues you may have. We welcome your comments and feedback please fill in a comments card available at reception.
Useful Contacts
CKD Team
You can contact us on the below number Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm. If your query is not urgent, please leave a message and we will get back to you.
01752 430310
Vascular Access Team: 01752431693
Heidi and Karen
For any urgent queries out of hours please contact: Mayflower Ward: 01752 431485
Once you commence haemodialysis, please contact the dialysis unit:
Plymouth Dialysis Unit: 01752 431700
Kingsbridge Dialysis Unit: 01752 438250
Holsworthy Dialysis Unit: 01626 241119
Saltash Dialysis Unit: 01752 278451
