Renal Services Network

Co-Chairs: Paul Snelling and Denise O'Shaughnessy

Each year in Australia approximately 2300 people are newly diagnosed with renal failure, 9600 people receive renal dialysis, and 7000 people are living with a transplanted kidney.

The prevalence of patients on dialysis is growing by approximately 5% annually, partly caused by the increasing incidence of diabetes. This has led to a greater demand for both dialysis and transplantation services. Some illnesses cause temporary renal failure, however there is no recovery from chronic or "end stage" renal failure. In these cases the only treatment is regular dialysis or kidney transplantation.

The main issues driving the GMCT Renal Services Network are:

The strategies of the Renal Services Network are:

• to increase and adapt the available workforce to meet the demand;
• to address issues of equity and access to dialysis services in both rural and metropolitan areas;
• to increase access to transplantation services; and,
• to encourage preventive measures to reduce chronic kidney disease.