Hospitals in Doomadgee and Mornington Island have finished upgrades, allowing eight people to return to country for specialised kidney treatment. The North West Hospital and Health Service reported that phase one of its "renal expansion project" had been completed at Mornington Island Hospital and Doomadgee Hospital. The project made four satellite dialysis chairs available across the two hospitals, adding to the two chairs that became operational in Cloncurry during mid-2022. Satellite dialysis chairs are used for patients undergoing kidney failure treatment. North West HHS acting Chief Executive Sean Birgan said he was pleased to see the project nearing completion despite COVID-19 setbacks and disruptions to infrastructure upgrades. "It has been a challenging few years for this project, but there has been tremendous dedication from our staff and a number of stakeholders to ensure the project continued," Mr Birgan said. "It is incredibly important that our patients receive the best care possible, as close to home as possible, and this is now achievable with these new satellite dialysis units in Doomadgee, Mornington Island and Cloncurry." Mr Birgan said the Doomadgee and Mornington Island haemodialysis units are currently housed in temporary locations within each health service, with construction of permanent units due for completion in late 2023, allowing for more chairs in each location. "In the final phase the chairs will increase to four chairs in Doomadgee and six chairs on Mornington Island under a hybrid service delivery with the chairs shared between those patients who can independently dialyse and those who require clinical support from specialist dialysis nurses."