The Australian Greens today welcomed the announcement that a deal has been struck between the Northern Territory and Western Australian governments to provide dialysis services and resources in Central Australia.

"This means that the ban on new patients from across the WA border is now lifted and patients from, or east of Warburton can access treatment and care for end-stage kidney disease in Alice Springs," Greens Health Spokesperson, Senator Rachel Siewert said today.

"This is fantastic news. We have heard that (award-winning artist) Patrick Tjungarryi has travelled in from Kiwirrkurra to Alice this morning for an appointment with the nephrologist this afternoon.

"It is a great relief to know that Patrick and the growing number of Aboriginal elders with chronic kidney disease in the central desert region are being cared for and now have a brighter future.

"A significant challenge remains in planning for future growth in demand for renal services in central Australia.

“We hope that more resources will go into self-care training and support to allow these elders to be able to visit or return to their communities and their land.

"The more we can do to prevent or delay the onset of kidney disease in these remote communities in the longer term, the better the outcomes will be for these communities, and the less pressure will be put on our health services by the burden of disease,” Senator Siewert said.

"We remain concerned for the plight of our friends in the APY lands on the other side of the South Australian border.

“The SA Government were not prepared to support the central Australian solution and are requiring dialysis patients to travel thousands of kilometres to Port Augusta or Adelaide to receive care. This is simply not good enough," Senator Siewert concluded.

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