A BRAND new £750,000 renal dialysis clinic - which would stop kidney patients having to travel to Portsmouth for life-saving treatment - could be built at Chandler's Ford.

Gambro Hospal Ltd, part of an international company which provides renal services throughout the UK and Europe, has applied to Eastleigh Council for planning permission to convert an empty unit at 3 Renown Close on the Chandler's Ford industrial estate.

The 18-bed clinic - which would be close to a railway station and bus routes - would provide treatment for more than 72 patients a week.

The facility, which would create around 15 jobs, would be used by NHS patients.

Kidney patient Kevin Green said it would be a "godsend".

Mr Green, 57, who is now unable to work, started dialysis treatment at Portsmouth just before last Christmas after suffering acute renal failure. Without it he would be dead in two weeks.

Welcoming news of moves to build a clinic closer to his home he said: "It would be a lot better for me. Don't get me wrong, Pompey is brilliant - the staff, the team and the treatment are brilliant. But the problem is getting to the hospital and getting home again.

"We have to rely on patient transport - there is no way I could afford transport off my own bat. If I could go to Chandler's Ford I could get a bus back and be home in half an hour."

Mr Green, of Suffolk Drive, Chandler's Ford, explained that kidney patients often felt unwell after treatment but had to wait for patient transport home.

He added: "A clinic at Chandler's Ford would be a godsend. I would miss all the people down at Portsmouth - the nurses and doctors - because the treatment is so good.

"But one at Chandler's Ford would be handy for all of us who live 20-odd miles from Portsmouth."

Chairman of the Wessex Kidney Patients' Association David Griffen added: "Kidney patients do have a problem in as much as the renal unit at Portsmouth serves a huge area and it does meantravelling, which is very stressful for a sick person."

Mr Griffen said he was aware of the proposal for Chandler's Ford and added: "It will be of great benefit to people living in that surrounding area. These are the sort of things we are looking for."

A trust spokesman told the Daily Echo: "We are in the process of tendering for the provision of a satellite dialysis unit in the Eastleigh/north Southampton area but at present no contract has been awarded."