BENGALURU: After a recent inspection of KC General Hospital revealed the state of affairs in the dialysis centre, including lack of functional air-conditioners, drinking water facilities and access to wheelchairs, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has announced that the government is planning to make single-use dialysis units mandatory for all centres across the state.
Health and Family Welfare Commissioner D Randeep told TNIE that the department is discussing the conversion of all centres to single-use dialysis centres, as technical experts have suggested it will reduce cross-infection among healthcare workers and patients. In case of haemodialysis, the same equipment is used multiple times after washing. The used dialyser and tubes have to be cleaned after every dialysis procedure.
Dialysis treatment puts patients at higher risk of serious infections, as it requires frequent access to the bloodstream, using needles or catheters (soft plastic tubes inserted into large veins). If germs get into a patient’s blood, they can cause serious infections that may lead to sepsis, a potentially life-threatening immune system response, or even death, a Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Study explained.
State-run dialysis centres have remained dysfunctional for months now. Subsequently, Rao directed officials to call for a fresh tender to improve the condition of 167 dialysis centres running under the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis programme. Dysfunctional equipment in many centres and shortage of nephrologists has continued for months, said Dr Keshav Murthy, director, Institute of Nephrourology, Victoria Hospital. The PMNDP portal stated there are 633 functional dialysis machines available across all centres in the state.
He said single-use equipment is already in use in many private hospitals. The process is convenient, requires less manpower and uses less water.