A book that aims to help patients who are seriously ill with kidney failure to make difficult decisions about their treatment has been launched.

The book focuses on conservative care, which is when a kidney failure patient who is on dialysis chooses to end this treatment, or they opt not to have dialysis at all.

Choosing conservative care means that kidney failure will progress and there is a high probability that this will lead to the patient's death.

The book was produced by Susan McKenna, a renal clinical nurse specialist at Cavan General Hospital, with grant support from the Irish Hospice Foundation. She wanted to provide patients and their families with a full understanding of their treatment choices and what conservative care means.

"Unfortunately dialysis treatment can be onerous and will not suit everybody when their kidneys fail. This booklet will hopefully bring clarity to a most difficult topic and will allow for patients to be real partners in their care and become involved with their medical team in shared decision making around their medical treatment choices and plans for future care," Ms McKenna commented.

According to Mike Kelly of the Irish Kidney Association, this book is ‘an invaluable tool' for kidney failure patients who are thinking about stopping dialysis, or not starting it in the first place.

"It provides the practical steps people need to consider when making the decision," he noted.

Meanwhile, according to Marie Lynch of the Irish Hospice Foundation, this is a very sensitive subject and information around it is lacking.

"We are sure this book will help patients with advancing kidney disease and their families as they face the decisions that lie ahead," she commented.

The book, Conservative Care of Kidney Failure - Helping You to Make an Informed Choice, has been approved by the Irish Kidney Association and is available free of charge from it. For more information, call the IKA on 1890 543 639 or email info@ika.ie