WARANGAL: Dialysis patients are at high risk of getting infected by Covid-19. However, the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Hospital in Warangal has no facilities for virus infected dialysis patients, and the patients are being referred to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad for Covid treatment. Even though the hospital’s dialysis machinery can cater to 14 patients, 50 to 60 patients arrive everyday from Warangal Urban, Bhupalpally, and Mulugu districts. In a month, as many as 1,400 patients come to the hospital seeking free dialysis.
According to information, a total of five dialysis patients were found infected with Covid-19 when they came for dialysis at the hospital. While four persons recovered from the virus, one died. A staffer from the MGM Hospital Department of Nephrology, on the condition of anonymity, said that most dialysis patients suffer from anaemia and breathing issues.
He also said that as the symptoms of the Covid virus and a dialysis patient with anaemia are similar, they cannot confirm if the patient has Covid without conducting a blood test. He also added that as of now, a total of six staffers from the Nephrology Department have been infected with the virus.Dr P Hari Prasad, Associate Professor at the Department of Nephrology, said that dialysis patients have low immunity and that their condition will deteriorate faster, in comparison to others.