BENGALURU: Many people heaved a sigh of relief when union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the proposal to start a ‘National Dialysis Services Programme’ during Monday’s budget presentation. Minister said funds will be made available under the National Health Mission to set up dialysis centres in all district hospitals.
Reacting to this, doctors in Karnataka said the state already has dialysis centres in all district hospitals and some taluk hospitals too. However, the government should focus on improving manpower, they added.
Dr Venkatesh, former director of the Nephro and Urology Institute said, “We have already set up dialysis centres across the state and the institute trains staff. The government of India is doing a good thing by taking this model to the rest of the country.”
Dr Keshav Murthy, the In-charge Director of the Nephro and Urology Institute said, “Every day 65 to 70 patients are provided dialysis at the institute at a very low cost. The State government is providing funds under various schemes and BPL families are getting maximum benefits.”
“In India, every year one lakh new patients require dialysis. Among them, only 3.5 per cent are able to get treatment. The main constraint is cost as it costs anywhere between Rs 12,000 to Rs 20,000 a month. This proposal might help more people get treatment as well as improve human resource,” said Dr. Hareesha Babu, Head, Department of Nephrtology, Vydehi Hospital.
Cardiologist and founder and Chairman of Narayana Health Dr Devi Shetty said, “BPL families can also get surgeries done at an affordable cost as their treatment cost will be covered under insurance. But the government failed to reach out to states in the North East in terms of establishment of new medical colleges and research centres.”