Dialysis facility stops at ESI Hosp Adityapur
Dialysis facility was stopped at the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital in Adityapur in Seraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand from Tuesday, leaving around 50 kidney patients in risk, people aware of the development said on Wednesday.
“The free dialysis facility at ESI Hospital, Adityapur was being run by Nephro-Plus, a private agency, under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. The extension of three years to Necro-Plus has expired and the ESIC has decided not to grant further extension to the PPP partners anymore anywhere. Hence, they stopped their service from yesterday,” Dr MP Minz, medical superintendent (MS) of the hospital told HT on Wednesday.
ESI Hospital Adityapur had decided to send kidney patients to referral hospital Bramhanand Hridayalay Hospital (BNH) in Jamshedpur but it turned out to have been overloaded with their own patients.
“We thought to send our about 50 patients undergoing dialysis to BNH under our tie-up with them but they informed that they were already overburdened. We have managed to convince Nephro-Plus to continue their services for another month. Meanwhile, we will manage somehow and set up our own unit,” added Dr Minz.
Dr Minz further said that they had written to the regional ESIC office and national ESIC office for further extension of three months to Necro-Plus but that has been turned down, asking to set up own dialysis units. Nephro-Plus was presently providing dialysis facility with 10 machines and staff at the ESI Hospital Adityapur.
“All ESI Hospitals across the country has been asked to do away with PPP mode and become self dependent by setting up their own dialysis units and staff. The ESIC headquarter has sanctioned five dialysis machines, each costing about Rs 7 lakh each and we are seeking approval for another five. We are trying to start with five machines within a month or two,” added Dr Minz.
“We are clueless as to where will we get the dialysis done and how. It will cost around Rs 26,000 per month for a patient in any private hospital. We were getting it done at ESI Hospital Adityapur almost free of cost,” relative of a patient said on Wednesday, on condition of anonymity.