THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government’s initiative of opening dialysis units in taluk and general hospitals has given much solace to the people of Parassala and adjoining places with six dialysis units now functioning at the Parassala taluk hospital.
The dialysis units started functioning from February 5 and about five dialysis have been done till now.
Hospital superintendent Dr Unnikrishnan said the dialysis unit was installed by Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) at a cost of Rs 1 crore. The machines itself cost about Rs 60 lakh, he added.
He said 57 patients with renal failure have registered with the hospital. In the dialysis unit here, only maintenance dialysis is being done. The patients registered here have been referred from Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. Only risk-free patients are given dialysis here as there is no nephrologist.
The dialysis unit at the hospital come as a huge relief to the patients and their relatives who had to travel a long way to the Medical College. This new unit allows them to save time and also get timely dialysis.
Unnikrishnan said a physician and staff nurse have been given training for using the dialysis units and they will be exclusively posted at the dialysis unit. The cost of dialysis for BPL families is Rs 400, APL Rs 600 and free for those who come under various Central schemes like Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana.
The Parassala taluk hospital has been in the news recently of becoming the first taluk hospital in the state to have done a complete knee replacement surgery. Apart from this, a complete hip replacement surgery was also done at the hospital recently. Now, there is also a proposal to start a trauma care centre at the hospital situated near the national highway.