Postby rish1108 » March 14th, 2015, 9:36 am
Fuad: New dialysis system to speed up treatment
By Michelle Loubon
Story Created: Mar 13, 2015 at 9:49 PM ECT
Story Updated: Mar 13, 2015 at 9:49 PM ECT
Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan has said about $26 million was spent on dialysis treatment for about 1,819 people in 2014.
He said the new enhanced haemodialysis system under the External Patient Programme (EPP) would reduce costs and time in getting dialysis treatments to patients. Khan made these statements at the programme’s launch at Park Street, Port of Spain, yesterday.
Among those present were per-
manent secretary Simeon Yearwood,
EPP programme administrator Beesham Seetaram, Chief Medical Officer Dr Colin Furlonge and principal medical officer of Environmental Health Dr Clive Tilluckdharry.
Dialysis is a treatment for people with chronic renal failure or severe renal impairment as the kidneys cannot do their usual job of filtering
the blood of its used nutrients and by-products of respiration and metabolism. Dialysis is a treatment which uses a machine outside the body to filter the blood.
Giving a breakdown on the exorbitant costs incurred by patients, Khan said patients long ago had to pay as much as $1,900 per session. “Three sessions would be more than $10,000 a month. It’s either you died
or you got broke and then died when you got kidney disease,” he said.
Speaking on the reduction in treatment time, Khan added: “Dialysis is moving in a different direction. People with kidney failure need treatment right away. They don’t need it in six to eight months. The programme would allow dialysis to take place within five days. No longer will you have to wait three months to get it. The new system would ensure there were proper balances and checks and accountability in the system.”
Khan explained the programme’s modus operandi, which stresses immediacy.
He said: “Documents are sent each Friday to the Ministry of Health’s E-PP Office. They are verified and processed for approval within five days of receipt. The process took six to eight weeks. Once approved, the patients are then contacted to begin dialysing at their selected dialysis provider.”
He added: “This new system eliminates the cumbersome two-system prepaid and continuous dialysis, hence solving the problem of patients waiting six weeks from approval to get a cheque before beginning dialysis under the former prepaid system. All patients, once approved, will be able to dialyse immediately.”
Khan also reminded the population they had a responsibility for their health since people in their 30s were obese and desperately needed dialysis.
Khan also said following a study, the health service ratings had moved
from six per cent to 32 per cent.
Khan also spoke about the health card which will be launched soon by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Dialysis providers
• Barrackpore Medical Centre
• Caribbean Kidney and Dialysis
Institute Ltd
• Corner Stone Haemodialysis
Services Ltd
• Cross-Crossing Medical Centre Ltd
• Freeport Medical Centre
• Health Net Caribbean Ltd
• IME Dialysis Centre
• John Hayes Memorial Kidney
Foundation
• Medcorp Ltd
• Nova Medical Centre Ltd
• Princes Town Dialysis Centre
• Trinidad Dialysis Centre
• V’med Ltd
• Westshore Medical
• AANDCO Healthcare Ltd
• Majterrence Dialysis Centre Ltd
