I have previously blogged about the title above. This blog adds to that blog.
I have received my first box of cassette extensions made necessary by Fresenius unilaterally reducing the length of both the drain and hookup line to 15 feet from 20 feet. As previously stated, in my setup, I require at least 20 feet of drain line to reach the toilet where we drain. With the 20-foot extension, I now have 35 feet of drain line, more than enough.
I tried out the new setup with the extended drain and had no alarms so we made it through the first night, from a drain perspective. But wait. The line to hook up to your catheter has also been reduced to 15 feet. I visited the lab last Friday and my attending nurse related that they have been bombarded with patient complaints about the change. People are having to redo their setups, vacation plans, and on and on as a result. For me, I no longer can reach a toilet to relieve myself if necessary; the line is not long enough to reach. I no longer can reach the desk where I accomplish morning biometrics; the line is not long enough. I can no longer reach the blinds in our master bedroom to open them in the morning; the line is not long enough. I barely have enough line to be able to sleep comfortably; the line is not long enough. You get the picture!
Fresenius screwed up in doing this, especially how they did it. Just like Biden pulling us out of Afghanistan but in this case they didn’t even ask.
Whoa! Not so fast. I, too have been on PD for 3 months. I set up my home to work with the Liberty Cycler. I measures carefully to make sure the tubing distance would work. At 20 feet to the toilet drain it worked well. The distance to the toilet from my bed worked perfectly. With the cycler in the middle in my hallway. Now the screwup.
The shorter tubing will not reach my toilet or my bed. What moron decided this was an answer to a question of short length? Need longer length to drain in the toilet, add the extension ( I have no idea how much that is billed to Medicare or agency.)
But the real incompetent solution is to put an expensive disconnect extension on the patient end. Disconnect in the middle of the night? In a hurry? Sanitary precautions on the patient end? This idea sucks! German engineering is better than this.
This is some middle-managerโs idea of a solution that can be avoided.
I insist that the original length be installed by your Mexico-assembly facility, immediately.!
I know this is not an inexpensive endeavor but plastic tubing even at 10 cents, this is one dollar. The greed of Fresenius is astounding. Adding extensions and disconnects probably adds $50 to $100 or more to the cost.
If there is a government agency I can make a complaint to, I will be glad to do so.
See tomorrow’s blog for one way to officially complain with more to come that I am doing as we speak.