Renal Failure

Each year in Australia approximately 2,500 people are newly diagnosed with renal failure, more than 10,000 people receive renal dialysis, and 8000 people are living with a transplanted kidney. In NSW, more than 3,500 persons receive dialysis treatments each week, and more than 2,500 are living with a transplanted kidney (35% and 31% of Australian totals, respectively).

The prevalence of patients on dialysis is growing by 5% annually, in part because of 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 ACI Renal Network is led by an executive committee and is open to clinicians, health managers and consumers.

All of the network’s standing committees are multidisciplinary and include medical, nursing and allied health clinicians. Consumer input is greatly valued by the committees when dealing with issues of patient care.

The network has more than 280 members and includes clinicians, consumers and representatives of local health districts.