DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand health department is planning to start 'Peritoneal Dialysis' which will enable patients facing kidney ailments to avail dialysis at their homes. This will be of great help to patients from remote hill areas of the state, said the officials from the state health department.
"We've already started dialysis in every district hospital. Now, the facility will be extended to the normal of the newest people. This will benefit thousands of people ailing from kidney-related issues needing dialysis," Uttarakhand Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat told The New Indian Express.
As per estimates, Uttarakhand has around one lakh people who suffer from mild to serious kidney ailments. Dr Harish Basera from the Nephrology unit of Government Doon Medical College, Dehradun, said: "The scheme will save Rs 30,000 per month for those needing dialysis. Everything ranging from dialysis facility to medicines is being provided free of cost by the state government."
In peritoneal dialysis, a tube (catheter) is implanted in the patient’s abdomen. This helps the painless process of dialysis for patients who have difficulty in traveling and are suffering from serious conditions related to kidney ailments.
Recently, the Uttarakhand government has decided to provide a 40 per cent subsidy to enterprises, individuals opting to open private healthcare facilities in hill districts of the state. The officials said that the subsidy would be advance and paid after the project approval. The move is being seen as a boost to medical infrastructure in remote hill areas of Uttarakhand.
Meanwhile, more than 30 per cent of doctors appointed by the Uttarakhand government during Covid times have refused to join the service. Following this, the state government has decided to choose doctors from the waiting list in these trying times of the pandemic.