Kidney disease patients in district Kupwara are being deprived of subsidized dialysis facility with the Health department failing to set up dialysis centre in the district despite available funds and equipment.
While three of the four dialysis centers in Kashmir underPrime Minister’s National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP) have started running atBaramulla, Anantnag and Pulwama, the most far-flung area of Kashmir division,fraught with difficulties in access to healthcare, is lagging grossly behind.This dialysis center under PMNDP is yet to be set up although funds for thescheme were released by GoI in 2016-17, an official said.
“This is nothing but sheer official apathy. We have fundsand equipment, but the district health administration is not able to reprievekidney disease patients with this facility here,” the official said.
A source in health department said that this dialysis centerwas headed for further delay as no space had been created for it yet. “In thenewly constructed hospital building, which will be handed over to healthdepartment soon, no provision has been kept for dialysis center,” he said. Thesource added that despite repeated directions from the directorate of healthservices last year, the chief medical officer (CMO) Kupwara did not comply.
The source said that the dialysis center was announced forKupwara in 2016, but three years on, the physical infrastructure is pending.”We do not even have a space for it, so there is no question of creatingreverse osmosis plant and other necessary infrastructure for the center,” hesaid.
The lack of dialysis center in district headquarter ofKupwara, a doctor said, was putting kidney disease patients through “untoldmisery”. “Patients are forced to travel to Sopore or Srinagar and the cost oftravel adds to the already expensive dialysis regimen,” he said. He added thatdialysis in private sector cost patients between Rs 20000 to Rs 40000 a monthand a Govt operated dialysis center in vicinity would have brought this cost”drastically down”.
“Although not every patient with kidney disease can beincorporated in these centers but nevertheless, hundreds are getting reprievein Anantnag, Baramulla and Pulwama,” he said.
J&K has been donated 45 dialysis machines by FairfaxCharitable Foundation Trust. However, due to delayed response to the centralprovision and failure to institute the dialysis centers in public-privatepartnership mode, as is being done in most states of India, these centers arebeing run solely on the manpower scooped out of the existing one, an officialsaid.
Director health services Kashmir, Dr Kunzes Domla said thatKupwara dialysis center was delayed “mainly due to space issues”. She said thatonce the new hospital building was ready to use, work on the center would bestarted. Asked if there was a provision of space for the center in the newbuilding, she said, “There must be.”
CMO Kupwara, Dr Prehlad Singh did not reply to repeatedcalls and text messages from Greater Kashmir.