Portrait Association Régionale pour le Traitement de l’Insuffisance Rénale Chronique

No waiting lists for renal dialysis patients

Portrait

When we are sick, long waiting lists for treatment are an inconvenience but, in the case of serious illness, could even have life-threatening consequences. In France in the 1970s, hospital departments treating renal failure were at full capacity, so to extend the dialysis service and provide more timely treatment, private nonprofit organizations, among them the Association Régionale pour le Traitement de l’Insuffisance Rénale Chronique (ARTIC 42), were set up.

Today, ARTIC 42 consists of six centers serving the department 42 region of central France, one of which is located directly opposite the university hospital to facilitate patient exchange.

Headquartered in Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, ARTIC 42 also has centers in Saint-Étienne, Savigneux, L’Horme and Monistrolsur- Loire. The organization initially focused on dialysis to help alleviate the capacity crisis but now additionally offers advice and pain therapy, including hypnosis.

“We currently have approximately 300 patients who undergo renal dialysis three times per week,” says President François Berthoux. “Currently patients have to attend one of our centers for treatment. However, the trend towards home dialysis is growing. Instead of three clinic-based treatments per week, patients undertake five or six shorter sessions in their own home. We don’t offer this option at the moment, but it is a model that we are working on for the future.”

For most patients, dialysis is an uncomfortable and time-consuming process which hugely impacts their quality of life. ARTIC 42 works closely with the university hospital to offer as many renal patients as possible the opportunity for a transplant operation.

Since 1978, 3,500 local patients have received new organs. The same number of transplant operations take place in France every year. In recent years, the measures taken to reduce the number of road accident deaths has severely impacted the number of organs available for transplant.

However, organ donation by living donors, often a family member or partner, is becoming an increasingly viable option. Nevertheless, patients can still remain on the waiting list, and therefore require dialysis, for up to five years before getting a graft.

“There are various service providers of dialysis and other renal failure treatments,” explains Director General Annie Olivier. “Besides the state-run hospitals, there are private clinics, associations and other private providers. Of course, patients can choose where their treatment takes place. In this area, with our six centers, we can offer patients a local service, which is very important to them. We also try to ensure that we always have free capacity, which the university hospital cannot guarantee.”

ARTIC 42 offers its patients the benefits of a focused and specialized service, with a highly qualified and experienced medical team and competent and caring support staff. Overall however, the renal dialysis service remains very stretched, and ARTIC 42 is aiming to address the problem with the addition of a further treatment center, planned to open in 2019.