Kidney disease patients encouraged to do dialysis at home

KUALA LUMPUR: Kidney disease patients, especially those in the rural or interior areas, are encouraged to do the dialysis treatment themselves at home to avoid frequenting the hospital or dialysis centre in town for treatment.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya said this home-based dialysis treatment or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) would not only ease treatment but would also reduce the costs of treatment for patients.

He said patients needed to do the CAPD for half an hour, four times a day at home, and go for a check-up at the hospital every two months, compared to having to go to hospital every week for treatment.

“Patients will be trained to do it (CAPD) themselves and to observe strict hygiene. This method is cheaper compared to the treatment at hospital which could reach RM200 per session.”

Dr Hilmi said this in reply to a question from Julian Tan Kok Ping (DAP-Stampin) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday on the shortage of haemodialysis facilities at government hospitals and clinics with the increasing number of patients,in the rural areas requiring dialysis.

He said doing the CAPD at home could reduce a patient’s treatment costs per year to RM25,000 compared to RM40,000 if done at a haemodialysis centre.

However, he added, the government would continue to set up more haemodialysis centres nationwide to cater to the increase in the number of patients each year.

Dr Hilmi said to encourage the private sector to set up more haemodialysis centres in the centre, the government had allocated a one-off fund of RM20 million for the purpose. - Bernama