MULTAN-Nishtar Hospital, the largest healthcare facility of South Punjab, is facing shortage of dialysis machine used for kidneys related ailments since long, this agency as learnt reliably.
Set up at outpatient department (OPD) of Nishtar hospital, the dialysis unit when it started functioning, had Germany and other foreign countries manufactured 34 machines of which four completed its recommended up to 25,000 working hours a few years back.
According to Nishtar Bio Medical Engineer report, another 10 machines have also gone dysfunctional after completing double functioning hours (50,000 hours) which further reduced the number of dialysis machines to 19 only.
However, these machines are still being used resulting poor performance for dialysis patients.
Around 100 patients visit Nishtar hospital OPD on daily basis for dialysis and for one dialysis, a machine had to work for 4 hours and afterwards, it needs one and a half hour for sterilisation to start a new procedure.
A single machine is conducting four dialysis round the clock at Nishtar hospital because three type of patients including recommended from Emergency ward, other wards and diabetes are visiting the unit daily.
Growing number of dialysis patients day by day is making it very difficult for dialysis unit staffers to handle the situation.
The dialysis is conducted for number of kidney related issues including Diabetes Miletus, Untreated high blood pressure, renal stones and kidney failures due to pregnancy etc.
Verbal clashes between patients attendants of patients are a common scene at dialysis unit due to this shortage.
When approached, Nishtar Medical University ( NMU) head of Nephrology department, Dr Ghulam Abbas said a new dialysis unit was under construction next to nephrology ward for which health department has pledged 15 dialysis machines besides philanthropists of Multan contribution of 10 machines for it.
He hoped that with this addition, the shortage of machines would be met soon. The HoD stated that a Philanthropist donated 2 machines for the unit recently.