Ms Roberts is one of five people who again has to travel to Tamworth three times a week for dialysis.

Another five are believed to be on home dialysis.

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A health scare that left Ms Roberts in an induced coma a few weeks ago has meant she has had to temporarily forego home dialysis and once again travel to Tamworth for treatment.

Gunnedah Shire Council this month began a push to investigate a dialysis machine for Gunnedah Hospital.

The council will send a letter to Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson seeking his support to investigate the need for a  machine.

But shire councillor Colleen Fuller, who moved the motion, has said she will also investigate the options available to Gunnedah, including home dialysis.

Ms Roberts has been on home dialysis for close to two years.

Her kidney troubles first began more than 11 years ago, when pregnancy brought on renal failure.

After four months of peritoneal dialysis, she had a kidney and pancreas transplant 11 years ago.

“I had a double transplant and I got eight years out of the kidney and 10 years out of the pancreas,” Ms Roberts said.

“The kidney was removed in July 2013, and the pancreas was removed last year.”

She is now back on the transplant list, is a diabetic, and dialysis is necessary three times a week.

She went through a two-month training period to be able to take a dialysis machine home and use it herself.

Until recently, Ms Roberts was able to hook herself up to the machine three times a week.

After the two-hour period required to warm up the machine, she is hooked up for five hours while her blood is cleansed through dialysis.

Special plumbing had to be installed in Ms Roberts’ house, and the machine uses hundreds of litres of water for each session.

It takes grit and determination to put large needles into yourself, discipline to carry it out three times every week, and training to know exactly what you are doing.

But, Ms Roberts said, it is worth it.

“The beauty of having it at home is that you are not travelling,” she said.

“You can be at home with the kids.”

This week, Ms Roberts was unable to watch one of her two children perform in the eisteddfod, because it clashed with a dialysis day in Tamworth.

Ms Roberts said after further training, she is expecting to be able to use her home dialysis machine again.

She said at the least, she believed plumbing for a machine should be included in one of the shire’s health facilities to allow installation in the future.

“Even if you have one machine running six days a week here with two ‘runs’ each day, you could have six people on dialysis,” she said.

“And it’s not just for now, it is what’s coming.

“Renal failure is a huge, huge issue, especially with Indigenous people.

“I think a lot of people don’t want to travel and they are also having to rely on other people.”

A dialysis machine is not included in the $2 million the state government has promised to spend on Gunnedah Hospital.

Estimates for the machine have been put at up to $2 million, with specially trained staff required.

The latest push has come following a letter from dialysis patient Fonz Evans to Gunnedah Shire Council.

“If Gunnedah had a dialysis machine, it would save so many people having to lose three full days in their lives travelling to Tamworth,” Mr Evans wrote.

“I would come to council to present my case on behalf of the rest of the residents that have to travel, but your council days are on the dialysis days.”

Mr Evans has also already raised the issue with Member for New England Barnaby Joyce and Mr Anderson.

Councillors Rebecca Ryan argued against the council motion, saying more investigation was needed into what the top priorities were for health care in the area.

 “We could stand here and say let’s get a dialysis machine, but my advice from the little bit of research I have done is that we will need clinical staff six days a week, we are looking at making a renal specialist available to the community – it could be $1 million or $2 million,” Cr Ryan said.

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t have that here, I am saying we need to look at the mix to see if that’s where we go first.”