A specialist medical centre is to offer classes for patients who suffer from chronic kidney disease.Bermuda Home Dialysis Services has launched its chronic kidney disease programme, which will start “in the near future” after quarantine measures have subsided.Irena Ashton, the owner of the medical centre, based in Woodbourne Hall on Hamilton’s Gorham Road, said that the programme will give sufferers valuable information on how to slow down the disease’s progression.She added: “We see people who are starting dialysis and the first thing they always ask is ‘what can I do to not do dialysis?’“We tell them ‘at this point it’s too late, you should have been asking this question a year or two ago’.“So we wanted to make sure that these patients have a chance to get the proper information and education so that they can stay away from dialysis.”The programme was created early this month with the support of the Chronic Disease Innovation Programme, managed by the Bermuda Health Council.Ms Ashton said that the programme had initially been launched earlier this month, but was put on hold for the safety of other patients.She explained: “We wouldn’t want people going out given the current situation; we would much rather just have them stay home and look after themselves.”The programme is designed for people who have Stage 3 CKD, or whose kidneys function at 60 per cent normal capacity or less.Patients will get a free individual session with a specialist where they can learn how to take preventive measures, including lifestyle changes, that can help reduce the need for dialysis.Ms Ashton said that the programme will accept ten patients every month.She added that the grant was awarded from a fund for chronic disease programmes.Ms Ashton said: “This programme is something we have been working on for some time — we wanted to get it going but there was no real funding for it before.”Bermuda Home Dialysis Services also offers free screenings for people who fear they may develop chronic kidney disease.• To sign up for the chronic kidney disease programme, call 295-8999