Dialysis in Ticino, Switzerland

Ticino is Switzerland's southernmost canton and the only one where Italian is the sole official language. It sits on the sunny side of the Alps, between the mountains and the Italian border, and it is built around two great lakes: Lake Lugano in the south and Lake Maggiore, whose northern tip reaches Locarno. Lakeside promenades, old town squares and castle walls make it a natural choice for a slower holiday. Whether you are planning a week in Lugano, a stay by the lake in Locarno, or a base in Bellinzona for day trips, you can keep your treatment schedule and still enjoy the trip.

Reni coordinates your dialysis while you travel. We list the dialysis centres we can find across Ticino (across hospitals and private units). Tell us where and when, and we contact the centres for you, follow up until one confirms your sessions, and help you plan the rest of the trip. The centre provides your treatment, and you book your travel directly with each provider. Finding a centre and arranging your sessions with it is free, and we share your details with a centre only with your consent.

Getting your sessions sorted comes down to five steps:

1. Find a centre. The centres in our directory appear below, so pick the one closest to where you plan to stay.
2. Send your inquiry. Include your current dialysis schedule, prescription details and travel dates. We contact the centre for you and follow up until it answers, only with your consent.
3. Confirm dates, times and what to bring. The centre replies with available slots. Get your sessions confirmed in writing before you do anything else.
4. Gather your paperwork. Ask your nephrologist or dialysis nurse for everything the centre needs. Leave time; home units can be busy.
5. Travel. With your slots confirmed and your documents in order, you can enjoy the lakes with your schedule sorted.

Ticino is compact, and its main towns are linked by regional trains, so a centre in a neighbouring town is often a short train ride away. Our directory includes regional hospitals and private units.

When we last reviewed this guide, our directory listed centres in the places below. The list further down this page comes straight from the directory, so check it for the current centres.

• Lugano: the canton's largest city, on Lake Lugano, with centres including the nephrology service of Ospedale Regionale di Lugano and Centro dialisi Nefrocure.
• Chiasso: at the southern tip of Switzerland, on the Italian border, home to MedQualitas.
• Mendrisio: in the south, between Lugano and Chiasso, with Ospedale Regionale di Mendrisio.
• Bellinzona: the cantonal capital, known for its castles, with Ospedale Regionale di Bellinzona e Valli.
• Locarno: on the shore of Lake Maggiore, with Ospedale Regionale di Locarno.

What centres told us

Some centres shared their own policies for visiting patients with us:

• Ospedale Regionale di Lugano takes visiting patients. For patients from the EU, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is usually enough. Without an EHIC, you pay on arrival: CHF 636 per session, plus medication if needed.
• MedQualitas in Chiasso asks you to tell the centre at least 30 days before you arrive. It asks for its holiday dialysis form (the European form) and a copy of your latest blood results. The team speaks Italian, German, French and English.

These are each centre's own rules and they can change. Other centres may work differently, so ask the centre you choose.

A typical routine is three sessions a week of around four hours each, but your schedule is a matter for you and the centre. We don't give medical advice; our job is to help you find the centre and make contact.

Centres typically ask visiting patients for the same core set of documents. Gathering these before you leave is one of the most important things you can do:

• A recent letter or summary from your home unit, including your dialysis prescription and current schedule.
• Recent blood test results.
• Virology and serology results (hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV), routinely required.
• A full list of your medications, including doses and timing.
• Your passport or ID, plus your EHIC if you have one and the centre accepts it.

How recent your blood and virology results must be is set by the centre that will treat you, and it differs from one centre to another. Ask that centre what it needs, then ask your nephrologist or home unit to arrange the tests to match.

Requirements vary by centre, so confirm the exact list when you make contact, and allow time to gather paperwork from your home unit before you travel.

Ticino has no major international airport of its own. Lugano has a small airport, but regular scheduled flights there are few, so most visitors fly into a larger airport and finish the trip by train:

• Milan Malpensa (MXP): the closest large airport. The TILO S50 line runs hourly from Malpensa to Mendrisio, Lugano and Bellinzona without a change of train.
• Zurich (ZRH): trains run south through the Gotthard and Ceneri base tunnels, and Zurich to Lugano takes under two hours.

Once you are in Ticino, regional trains link the main towns. Bellinzona to Lugano takes about 15 minutes, and Locarno to Lugano about 30. The S10 runs from Lugano through Mendrisio to Chiasso on the Italian border. Check current timetables before you travel, and allow extra time on days when you have a session.

Ticino is one of the sunniest and mildest parts of Switzerland, and the lakes draw visitors for much of the year. Spring (April to June) and early autumn (September and October) are often the most pleasant months, and summer brings the busiest lake season.

The golden rule: get your sessions confirmed in writing before you book flights or trains. At least one centre asks for 30 days' notice, so a last-minute trip may not be possible.

Treat your dialysis arrangement with the same urgency as your travel: inquire a month or more ahead and keep a backup centre in mind. With centres in five towns linked by train, a second option is often close by.

Availability, what to bring, languages spoken and any costs can all change, and they differ from centre to centre. Always confirm the details directly with the centre before you book flights or treatment. We list centres and keep their contact details as current as we can, but we are not affiliated with them and cannot confirm availability on their behalf.