Arabic version: دراسة خيارات غسيل الكلى في باتشلور قبل إغلاق «يي إس إس إيه»

According to ABC News, the Northern Territory government has explored dialysis treatment options in Batchelor before Darwin’s YiSSA short-stay accommodation facility is expected to close on October 11.

Correspondence provided to the ABC shows an NT Health bureaucrat contacted renal health service Purple House about whether its mobile “Purple Truck” could treat people relocating to Batchelor who require dialysis. The government has announced an accommodation facility in the town, about 100 kilometres from Darwin, after rejecting a $3.5 million shared-purchase offer from the Commonwealth to keep YiSSA open.

Purple House said it did not have capacity to provide dialysis in Batchelor through the mobile unit. The truck is in Alice Springs, while staffing limitations and the approaching build-up and wet season would make service over the next four to six months very difficult, it said. The organisation said its priority was maintaining existing permanent sites.

Its response said moving dialysis patients to Batchelor was not advisable, citing access to dialysis, reliable transport back to Darwin, and proximity to aged care, disability services and Darwin and Palmerston hospitals. It said the move could further dislocate and destabilise a vulnerable group requiring substantial medical and social support.

Children and Families Minister Robyn Cahill had previously said dialysis patients would not be moved to Batchelor, and that NT Health was seeking accommodation near Darwin services. The government has not confirmed whether dialysis patients may now be accommodated at the Batchelor site or how many YiSSA residents require alternative housing. An NT government spokesperson said providers and NT Health would ensure transport and accommodation arrangements allowed residents to continue attending medical appointments.