Thursday, April 14, 2016
Diaverum, one of the leading renal care providers worldwide, inaugurated its first dialysis clinic in New Zealand. The clinic is situated in Auckland, the largest and most populous urban area in the country and will treat up to 96 end-stage renal disease patients with haemodialysis (HD) and haemodiafiltration (HDF).
The clinic was officially opened by The Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman MP, Minister of Health of New Zealand, on Friday, 8 April. He unveiled the inauguration plaque together with Boris Zjacic, Head of Area Central East at Diaverum. “This clinic is a very important milestone for the country, as it marks the first public/private partnership agreement of its kind in New Zealand,” commented Mr Zjacic. “We are thankful for the trust that the counties Manukau District Health Board has put in Diaverum and we will deliver highest quality of care to the patients.” Healthcare in New Zealand is run by 20 District Health Boards (DHBs), which are responsible for providing or funding the provision of health services in their district.
New Zealand operations are being supervised by the Australian country management team of Diaverum. Esteban Harper Cox, Managing Director Diaverum Australia & New Zealand, welcomed the more than 60 guests at the opening, amongst which were several Maori dignitaries, by stating that Diaverum is “putting the patient at the heart” of everything that we do. “Our proven ability to form and maintain collaborative relationships to provide high quality services to our patients contributed to us being awarded with this largest renal care tender in New Zealand.”
Diaverum cares for more than 600 patients in Australia and New Zealand spread across ten clinics. The new clinic in New Zealand will also be an attractive holiday dialysis location as part of the d.HOLIDAY programme of Diaverum, which enables renal patients from all over the world to take a revitalising vacation despite their illness. The Auckland clinic is equipped with 30 dialysis stations and provides a warm, friendly and inspiring atmosphere and state of the art equipment.
Globally, more than three million people require renal replacement therapy. This number increases by five per cent every year. In New Zealand the prevalence rate of end-stage renal disease patients is 557 per million of the population (ANZDATA reports, 2012), compared to a global prevalence of around 400 dialysis patients per million. However, the Maori population has a prevalence of 1,130 per million and the Pacific Islanders 1,699 per million. Of the 2,500 people receiving renal replacement therapy in New Zealand, 50 per cent are being treated at home, with 31 per cent of those on peritoneal dialysis (PD).
Source : businesswire.com
