THREE kidney consultants are getting on their bikes to raise awareness of the plight of patients who travel miles for dialysis treatment.

Professor Aled Phillips, Doctor Steve Riley and Dr Kieron Donovan will be calling at 13 dialysis units across Wales, including Merthyr Tydfil, Bangor, Wrexham, Haverfordwest, and Aberystwyth, during there 350-mile trek.

The three consultant nephrologists are based at the University of Wales, Cardiff, but run the Royal Gwent Hospital’s renal clinic treating kidney patients from across Gwent.

Prof Phillips said they decided to the ride, after attending a charity dinner for another fundraiser.

He said: “We decided to do something more than fundraising, by travelling around all the dialysis units in Wales to highlight the travelling time that some patients have endure.

“Despite increasing the capacity for dialysis in recent years, some patients still have to travel for more than an hour each way to receive treatment for four hours three times weekly. Wales needs new dialysis units to reduce travel time and to provide essential specialist treatment closer to patients’ homes.”

The trio are hoping to raise around £50,000 for the Kidney Wales Foundation and have already reached the £5,000 mark. The Cycle for Kidney Disease kicks off on March 6 and donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/ckdwales.