9 February 2009
A nurse from Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals University Hospital NHS Trust walked for nine miles through the snow to treat a patient who could have died without dialysis last Monday (2 February 2009).
Renal nurse Debbie Noble walked 4.5 miles (and back) from her home in Ashtead to Ewell to treat a patient after heavy snowfall meant there was no other way of getting to her.
Because of chronic renal failure, patient Steph Crawford needs dialysis at least three times a week. She was due to have dialysis at the Trust's renal satellite unit in Kingston on Monday morning following the normal weekend break, and knew it was vital that she received the treatment.
Steph said: "The fact is, without dialysis I would have died. I know it sounds dramatic, but it's true. I know that I need dialysis at least three times a week, so by Tuesday I would have been in real trouble."
Describing the events of Monday morning, Steph said: "I got up at my normal time to go to dialysis, but when I stepped out of the door, the snow was up to my knees. I tried to drive, but at the end of my road I got completely stuck. I really began panicking then - I couldn't get to hospital and didn't think an ambulance would be able to get to me. I thought I would need an air ambulance.
"I rang the hospital and spoke to Debbie and she just told me to get ready because she was coming over. When I told her it would be impossible because of the icy weather, she simply said 'No, I'm walking.'"
Luckily, Debbie has been working closely with Steph so that she can use a dialysis machine in her own home. The machine had been installed at Steph's home, but was still not quite ready to use. With the approval of renal consultant Ginny Quan, it was decided to start Steph's dialysis at home.
Debbie rang technicians at the Trust and they gave her support over the phone until the dialysis machine was up and running.
Steph added: "It was a real team effort and I am grateful to everyone involved, and especially Debbie. What she did was fantastic, amazing. But she won't take any credit for it - she just says 'oh, it's my job', but not many other people would do what she did. She's 'Noble' by name and 'noble' by nature.
"There aren't enough words to say how thankful I am to her. She is literally a real life saver. She's a star," said Steph.
Debbie said: "I was pretty tired after all that walking, but the outcome was very successful. It was definitely worth it. I am used to walking, but I have to say that walking in the snow and ice is much harder than normal - I'm still wearing blister plasters.
"Everyone at the Trust worked hard over those two days. Lots of people went above and beyond to take care of the people that needed it most. Everyone's been mucking in."
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the leading renal services in the UK and runs satellite dialysis centres in Crawley, Croydon, Farnham, West Byfleet and Kingston. The units are used by patients from across south west London, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire and save them from having to travel to hospital unnecessarily.
