Almost six months after receiving its first patient, Smethwick Dialysis Centre was officially opened on Tuesday 24 November 2015 with a special ceremony for patients, relatives and colleagues.

The centre provides haemodialysis treatment for patients in the heart of the Smethwick community in a bespoke 40-station facility.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust’s (UHB) Executive Chief Nurse, Philip Norman, led a short ceremony, where he commended the project team for their achievement before unveiling a commemorative plaque with UHB’s Clinical Lead for Haemodialysis, Consultant Nephrologist, Dr Clara Day.

Guests also heard from Dr Day herself, who described the new dialysis centre’s complex journey from an idea through to its opening.

Dr Day also paid tribute to the many partners and colleagues involved in the development process and thanked patients for their understanding through the changes.

Dr Day said: “This has been a huge team effort with many contributors from both in and outside the Trust. The hard work involved has been rewarded by a fantastic 40 station dialysis unit; a purpose built home haemodialysis area and a fabulous suite of outpatient rooms.

“The centre has been built quite deliberately in an area where the demand for renal services is high and we therefore hope will contribute to making the medical demands of renal disease a bit easier for our patients.”

Project Manager, Emma Cooper, who co-ordinated the event said: “The Official Opening is an important milestone in the centre’s timeline and has given everyone involved in the opening of Smethwick Dialysis Centre an opportunity to come together and mark this incredible achievement with the people at the heart of the project – our patients.”