BHUPALPALLY/MULUGU: Patients with kidney-related ailments who require dialysis in Warangal Urban or surrounding districts have to only rely on Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Hospital for medical care, as there are no facilities for free dialysis in the newly formed districts of Jayashankar Bhupalpally and Mulugu.
Patients have to either travel to Hanamkonda or Warangal to undergo dialysis at MGM Hospital, or shell out money at private dialysis centres. Patients from poor and middle class families are distressed as the treatment at private centres is expensive, and the monthly income of many of these families is only around Rs 10,000-15,000.
In addition to this, currently at MGM Hospital, the dialysis machinery can cater to 14 patients, while every day 60 to 65 patients turn up from Warangal Urban, Bhupalpally and Mulugu districts for free dialysis treatment.
In Warangal Rural district, Narsampet government hospital, Jangaon district government hospital and Mahabubabad district government hospital provide dialysis but are only equipped with five machineries each. Whereas, every day 25 to 35 kidney patients come to these hospitals seeking free dialysis.In the Mulugu and Jayashankar Bhupalpally districts, carved out three years ago, till now there are no free dialysis centres for kidney patients.
When The New Indian Express contacted Jayashankar Bhupalpally’s District Medical and Health Officials (DM&HO) Dr Sudhar Singh, he said there was no government hospital in the district, and hence no centre where patients could undergo dialysis for free. He said the construction of the government hospital building was completed, but it was not yet inaugurated.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, K Avinash said his grandfather needed to go to MGM Hospital from Bhupalpally district every three days for dialysis. "We need to travel 60 to 70 km and it is difficult for patients to travel in an RTC bus. So there is no other option left but to hire a private vehicle. We also have to wait for hours at the hospital because every day, several kidney patients come and it takes four hours for each patient to undergo dialysis. Even if we want to go to a private hospital, there aren’t any such centres in the district. We request the district administration authorities and the State government to set up free dialysis centes for kidney patients," Avinash said.
Either travel far or shell out extra
Patients have to either travel to Hanamkonda or Warangal to undergo dialysis at MGM Hospital, or shell out money at private centres. Patients from poor and middle-class families are distressed as these centres are costly, and their monthly incomes are only Rs 10,000-15,000