PGI to upgrade its dialysis facilities

As of now,PGI’s dialysis unit caters only to emergency patients or those who are in the process of getting kidney transplants. Regular patients in the need of maintenance dialysis will have to wait longer as even with the additional strength,PGI will still not be able to put these units for regular maintenance use.

“Currently,the 12 stations accommodate 24 patients in two shifts for over five hours on a single session of dialysis. All these patients are those who would be getting kidney transplants soon or are emergency cases. With the additional stations,there would be a dedicated unit for Hepatitis B patients and separate stations for emergency patients,”,said Dr H S Kohli,professor of Nephrology.

PGIMER receives nearly 125 renal failure patients,who need dialysis,every week but only 10 of them on the emergency basis get the facility. In the absence of regular a dialysis facility for maintenance usage,renal patients are forced to approach private sector hospitals and pay anything between Rs 1300-1500 for each session. At PGI,the same treatment costs between Rs 350-400.

At present,the hospital admits patients for dialysis two to three days before the kidney transplant surgery is to be done.

After the upgradation,however,PGI will start doing the dialysis one to two months before the surgery. “ Ideally,the patient who is required to undergo renal transplant should have received adequate dialysis at the same hospital to avoid any infection. With the additional station,we will be able to do exactly this and this would help patient avoid infection”,said Dr Kohli. Despite the increase in stations,PGI still has its own limitations that prevent it from providing dialysis for regular patients.

The Nephrology department has technicians for only four of the dialysis machine.. To run a regular facility,adequate staff right from technicians to nursing staff to sanitation workers are required,according to a senior doctor from the department. At present,the Government Multi Speciality Hospital,Sector 16 and the Government Medical College and Hospital,Sector 32 are the other state owned hospitals that have dialysis stations but even these cater only to emergency patients.

Dialysis facility is used for those with an acute disturbance in kidney functions or for those with progressive but chronically worsening kidney functions. Dialysis is regarded as a ‘holding measure¿ until a renal transplant can be performed,or sometimes as the only supportive measure in those for whom a transplant would be inappropriate.