A MOTHER is urging people to join a pressure group calling for a new kidney dialysis unit to be built in Oxfordshire.

Julie Vincent’s 15-year-old daughter Kelly has nephrotic syndrome, which means her kidneys do not work correctly, and she may need dialysis in the future.

Mrs Vincent, of Morris Drive, Banbury, recently launched a campaign on social networking site Facebook, called Banbury needs a dialysis unit. Within six days she had more than 400 supporters.

She also plans to launch a petition via the Downing Street website in a bid to make health officials take notice.

At the moment, the Churchill Hospital, Oxford, is Oxfordshire’s only dialysis unit, and Mrs Vincent and fellow campaigners want another for people in the north of the county.

Supporters were told by health chiefs that there needed to be 24 dialysis patients living in north Oxfordshire to make a satellite unit viable. But that figure has since been changed to 28 patients and NHS Oxfordshire said a unit would not be set up before 2011.

North Oxfordshire Academy student Kelly was diagnosed with her condition, which causes her body to swell, about six years ago and takes daily medication.

Mother-of-two Mrs Vincent, 38, said: “She has had lots of different treatments, none of which are now working.

“She has been in and out of hospital several times – too many to remember – and mostly to the children’s ward at the Horton, which has great staff and is a very valuable service to us.

“Recently her condition has become nearly impossible to treat – we are just keeping her as stable as possible until we know why this is.

“Kelly is very resistant to treatment now. A relapse meant she gained around 10kg in fluid in just under three weeks.”

Kelly attends Great Ormond Street Hospital in London today for a kidney biopsy to see why she is not responding to medication.

Mrs Vincent said: “The Facebook group is to make people aware that we do need a satellite centre in Banbury because it’s something severely lacking.

“The more pressure we put on them the better.”

Kelly said: “We are doing it because most people who have this condition have to travel so far and they have to do it every single week.”

Andrew Stevens, director of planning and information for Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are continuing to develop plans for the provision of a dialysis unit at the Horton General Hospital.

“Once these are ready, we would hope to agree the timescale for this with our commissioners, NHS Oxfordshire , during the 2010-2011 financial year.”