Renal Medicine
Health professional information
Clinical service overview
Our care spans the medical and surgical ward services, pre-dialysis assessment, and renal replacement therapies. The department offers haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis programs with an evolving emphasis on home-based therapies.
The department also provides a comprehensive kidney transplantation service (live donor and deceased donor). Relevant patient and family/carer education and support services for pre dialysis and transplant patient education sessions are held throughout the year.
Specialised staffing roles include:
- Outreach co-ordinator
- Dialysis co-ordinator
- Transplant co-ordinator
- Home peritoneal dialysis training
- Home haemodialysis training
- Renal research
The department maintains a close liaison with psychiatry and allied health, including social work and dietetics.
We have an acute 20 bed unit with 4 haemodialysis rooms that provide a comprehensive suite of medical services to patients across renal, endocrinology and rheumatology specialities. The ward provides both medical and surgical care for patients with acute and chronic renal disease.
We also have outpatient clinics at all three hospital campuses.
Outreach Program
The progressive chronic kidney disease and pre-dialysis program centres around 3 main components aimed at promoting home based therapies:
- Education
- Support and guidance
- Shared decision making
Patients are encouraged to be involved in their plan of care and to include their family/ support people in the decision making process regarding conservative care options as well as those choosing dialysis and transplantation.
The Peritoneal Dialysis Home Training Unit is located on Ward 7 West. The day unit is staffed by Clinical Nurse Specialists, who provide a comprehensive peritoneal dialysis training program and ongoing support for patients and carers.
The Home Haemodialysis Training Unit is co-located in the Alfred Haemodialysis unit in Ward 4ADU. It provides an intensive home dialysis training program and ongoing support for existing patients.
Dialysis
We provide a Dialysis Service at all three hospital campuses.
The Alfred Dialysis Unit is an acute in-centre haemodialysis unit for current inpatients of the hospital.
The Caulfield Haemodialysis Unit is a satellite chronic haemodialysis facility providing support for patients in Caulfield hospital with end stage kidney disease (ESKD) requiring dialysis.
The Sandringham Haemodialysis Unit is a satellite chronic haemodialysis unit.
Renal Transplant Program
The Renal Transplant Program combines both deceased donor and living donor transplant programs.
A medical, social and surgical assessment is completed for both potential recipients and donors. We provide extensive transplant patient education sessions aimed at providing patients and family/carers with information regarding transplantation, along with printed material and other educational resources.
Research Program
The Renal Medicine service has an increasing clinical trials program with particular emphasis on pre-ESKD studies.
Exclusion criteria
This service does not routinely offer treatment for the following:
- Patients who are being treated for the same condition at another Victorian public hospital
- Children under 18 years of age
Refer your patient
Fax referral to us
We accept GP and specialist referrals to this service.
All referrals are triaged by the service according to clinical urgency. Patients requiring immediate assessment should be sent to the Emergency & Trauma Centre.
To refer your patient, complete and fax a referral to us. For urgent referrals, also contact the service Registrar to discuss the case.
To ensure appropriate and timely triage, include all demographic and clinical details as well as relevant investigation results.
If you are concerned about any delay of the appointment or if there is any deterioration in your patient’s condition, contact the service Registrar on call on (03) 9076 2000.
Our clinics
| Clinic name | Campus | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Kidney General Clinic Monday afternoon at The Alfred |
The Alfred | 55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004 |
| Kidney MBS Clinic Tuesday mornings at The Alfred |
The Alfred | 55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004 |
| Kidney General Clinic Wednesday afternoons at The Alfred |
The Alfred | 55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004 |
| Kidney Post Transplant Clinics Monday to Friday mornings at The Alfred |
The Alfred | 55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004 |
| Kidney General Clinic - Caulfield Friday afternoons fortnightly at Caulfield Hospital |
Caulfield Hospital | 260 Kooyong Rd, Caulfield VIC 3162 |
| Kidney General Clinic - Sandringham Friday afternoon fortnightly at Sandringham Hospital |
Sandringham Hospital | 193 Bluff Rd, Sandringham VIC 3191 |
| Kidney Home Therapies Wednesday mornings at The Alfred |
The Alfred | 55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004 |
| Kidney Pathways Tuesday afternoons at The Alfred |
The Alfred | 55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004 |
Resources
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