MORE CHOICE: The Kidney Society's new community dialysis house is giving renal patients more control over their treatment.

Hooking up is hard to do.

But a new community dialysis house in Mangere is making it easier for renal patient Keleni Ta'ala.

Dialysing for 20 hours every week leaves a lot of time for reflection, he says.

"I think about my wife and kids a lot and the sacrifices they make."

But being able to manage his own treatment in the privacy of Kidney Society Auckland's new community house has given the staunch Otahuhu Rugby League supporter some room in his restricted life.

"It's self management – the freedom to come in and do your treatment without being hindered."

The house has opened in partnership with Counties Manukau District Health Board renal service and gives 20 haemodialysis patients rostered days to dialyse on 10 machines.

Patients use the same room and machine for hygiene and continuity, Kidney Society executive director Nora van Der Schrieck says. And it's a more cost-effective option compared to hospital dialysis.

"The aim is to keep it as close to home dialysis as possible. It gives users the freedom they don't get at the hospital. Appointment times there are strict because of demand, making an even larger impact on people's lives."

Health Minister Tony Ryall officially opened the house last Thursday, cutting the ribbon with Mr Ta'ala. It's the society's second unstaffed community dialysis unit in Mangere.

"It's a massive sacrifice for the society to make sure that we have a place where we can better our health and our state of mind," Mr Ta'ala says.

"I like doing my treatment here. A lot of good people come here and it helps them be free.

"And it's non-judgmental."

With the unwavering support of his wife, Mr Ta'ala admits the hardest battle is the one inside.

"I've accepted that I am on a machine and that I am sick. But all along you're trying to fight it in the head that you're limited now.

"The journey is trying to stay employed now because it keeps my mind ticking over so I'm not just sitting at home vegetating, I'm actually being productive."

- © Fairfax NZ News

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