Affordable dialysis centres in city a distant reality

Almost three years ago, the Corporation had planned to open three more dialysis centres in the city. However, the project is yet to take off. Speaking to DTNext, M Vijayalakshmi, District Commissioner Health, Corporation of Chennai, said, “The centres will soon come up at the Urban Community Health Centres. We are in the process of setting them up.” The centres that came up almost five years ago in Valluvar Kottam and Perambur cater to only a fraction of people. 

A source from the Perambur centre says, “We have about 1012 patients undergoing dialysis every week, as we have only two machines and staff work one shift. They are usually referred to us from the Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital and the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital We only take stable patients since this is not a fully-fledged hospital and we cannot handle critical cases.” 

Similarly, expansion of the Corporation centre at Valluvar Kottam too has been delayed, according to a source at the centre, who says they need more machines if they have to cater to more people. At the moment they are catering to 24 people every week. 

Dr N Gopalakrishnan, Director, Institute of Nephrology, RGGGH says that though the Tamil Nadu government has been doing a lot for taking dialysis services to everyone requiring it, the increasing prevalence and incidence of kidney-related ailments have made catering to all a Herculean task. “The Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme covers the procedure and there are provisions for cardholders to avail the services at private hospitals too. Yet, there is a gap  between demand and supply for many reasons. We are seeing a rise in the number of diabetes cases, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, etc. An increase in life expectancy too has added to the demand. At RGGGH, there are 32 machines and the Omandurar Government Multi Super Speciality hospital has 20. But the patients need to undergo the procedure twice or thrice every week, hence there is always a demand.” 

Janakiraman, who is in his 60s, has been on dialysis due to diabetic complications for the last five years. While he was initially undergoing the procedure twice a week at a private hospital for close to three years, he had spent an enormous sum of his savings, as it cost close to Rs 1500 per session. Later, he learnt of a Trust that was offering haemodialysis at Rs 500 per session. Janakiraman now undergoes the same procedure at almost one third of the earlier cost. He says it is still a strain on his finances, but a manageable option. 

M Vadivanantham, Incharge, Dialysis Department, Suraksha Dialsysis Centre run by the Nandalala Medical Wing, which has been functioning for close to a decade says, “Here we cater to a number of patients from across Tamil Nadu. They are mostly from the middle and lower middle income groups, who have tried the expensive option of private hospitals. Since they need to undergo the procedure thrice a week, centres like ours are an economic option.” 

The centre has nine machines, but Vadivanantham says they are still unable to cater to the requirements of everyone approaching them. “We have patients on waiting list, despite the number of machines and operating six days a week in two shifts.” 

The TANKER Foundation, which has been making dialysis affordable, has also been working with the Chennai Corporation with four units at Valluvar Kottam. Apart from these, the unit at the Ambattur Rotary Hospital has around 23 machines. 

City-based nephrologist and Founder Trustee TANKER Foundation, Dr Georgi Abraham, says, “There is a huge gap between the actual numbers who need dialysis and the ones who undergo the treatment. Meeting the needs is not just the government’s job, but each one of us, including specialists and NGOS, have a big role to play,” he says. 

While the Ambattur Rotary Hospital offers the procedure for HIV positive, apart from Hepatitis B and C positive patients, the existing facilities are inadequate for the section of patients.

To make up for the shortage, the Shree Jain Medical Relief Society, which operates dialysis centres in Mylapore, Perambur and Sowcarpet, will soon start one at Kodambakkam, where the centre will cater to Hepatitis patients. Rajithamba, who manages the centre, says, “When we realised we had to turn away patients with Hepatitis, we decided to start another one exclusively for them at Kodambakkam. It is difficult to cater to all of them, who seek the treatment, and that’s why we have been opening centres as and when we see there is demand for in a particular area.” 

Dr Abraham says that catering to a larger of positive patients is the need of the hour.

Dialysis is the process of filtering and purifying the blood using a machine. This helps keep the body in balance when the kidneys can't do the job on their own.

Haemodialysis involves the use of an artificial kidney termed "Dialyser", which emulates the functions of a normal kidney. It needs to be done 2-3 times a week and is an expensive process. 

Prevalence of renal failure in India is 76 per million, while 240 per million reach terminal stage of kidney ailment. 

Corporation runs 2 dialysis centres. 

At Valluvar Kottam, Rs 375 per session for 20 per cent of the patients, the rest avail it free of cost.

Corporation dialysis centre at Perambur offers the services free of cost. 

Other trust-run centres charge Rs 500 per session and most patients need three sessions every week. 

Private centres charge anywhere between Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,700 per session. 

Only a few private and NGO-run dialysis centers cater to Hepatitis and HIV patients