Foundation needs continuous assistance to help kidney patients

KUCHING: The CHK Moral Uplifting Society Kidney Foundation is calling for continuous government assistance to reduce the burden of the centre in attending to the ever increasing number of kidney patients requiring dialysis.

According to its chairman Datuk Tay Chin Kin, the centre which started in Jalan Pending before moving to its own premises in Iris Garden in Lorong Laksamana Cheng Ho 8.

“Our centre now provides dialysis treatment to about 170 patients, and this new building provides better ambience, facilities, environment and service to patients,” said Tay.

He said this during a working visit by Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.

Tay noted that the number of kidney patients in Malaysia continues to increase.

In Sarawak, the rate of people requiring dialysis treatment had increased from 87 per million population in 2006 to 200 per million population in 2015.

Fatimah in her speech lauded the effort by the association in providing the service for those who cannot afford to pay for haemodialysis.

“The government will always find measures and ways especially involving the support system in the state for kidney patients,” said Fatimah.

She further elaborated her wish to see more improvement especially in facilities to accommodate more patients from the current 170 to 200.

“Last year there were 1,927 cases of End Stage Renal Failure. To accommodate the number of kidney patients, there are currently 46 government and private owned dialysis centres with a total of 415 machines,” she said.

Fatimah later said advocacy work is vital to create awareness on the importance of healthy living, and a holistic approach is needed to promote healthy lifestyle and assists those with such kidney conditions.