The dialysis unit at Battlefords Union Hospital will soon be open six days a week, instead of the current three.

That means starting January 10th, an extra eight patients can now get dialysis there, instead of travelling all the way to Saskatoon.

Prairie North Health Region spokesperson Barb Jiricka says that means a lot, because some of those patients come from as far away as Meadow Lake, or even further north.

She explains all that travel is wearing thin on them and their families.

The provincial government covered the 235-thousand-dollar bill for to expand the unit.

Jiricka says it will also foot the bill for the necessary extra staff and supplies for the unit.