Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

Dozens of patients who spend at least 12 hours a week hooked up to a life-saving machine are devastated Greenlane Hospital's renal unit is closing.For them it's a "safe haven" and a lifeline.Instead, the majority of these dialysis patients say they will have to travel further to Kereru Kidney Centre in Glen Innes - a $7 million Auckland District Health Board 12-year project opening later in the year.While the DHB says the Greenlane clinical centre is no longer fit for purpose, many patients spoken to by the Herald were heartbroken, with one saying "it sucks, for me time is precious".Patients who need dialysis treatment have entered the end stage of kidney disease and nearly all their kidney function is lost.A letter to the DHB, signed by 35 patients and seen by the Herald, said: "We have no issues with building more dialysis capacity but this is NOT achieving that, at HUGE cost."Greenlane unit needs to be kept operating as it also offers good dialysis plus proximity for the people who rely on its services."Au