SAROOR
JAMMU: The patients with chronic kidney diseases are these days facing hardships and are running from pillar to post as the dialysis service at the Super Speciality Hospital Jammu has been affected for more than two weeks because of the defunct Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant.
Sources in the health department said that the dialysis service has been effected in the SSH Jammu due to the failure of RO (Reverse Osmosis) plant in Nephrology Department thus forcing patients to visit SMGS Hospital and GMC Jammu for the facility.
“Due to limited machines in the SMGS and GMC hospitals, most of the patients preferring private hospitals to avail the facility,” sources added and said that though many private hospitals have the provision of proving the facility to the patient under the Ayushman Health Scheme, but all patients are not getting the benefit.
Sources further said, “there are 18 machines installed in the hospitals at the divisional level and on an average 35 to 40 patients are daily availing the facility in three shifts,” adding, “in GMC and SMGS hospitals, two machines are installed and they perform 6 to 7 dialysis daily.”
Many patients facing the brunt due to the defunct RO plant are shifting to the neighbouring states for the dialysis facility thus drying coffers of many.
“Those who can afford, are availing the facility at the private hospitals but what about the poor class? Where will they go?,” questioned an attendant.
“Normally 12 to 14 dialysis machines can be run on the RO plant installed at the hospital but 18 to 20 machines were being operated in three shifts to benefit the patients and the overloading developed a technical snag and the service was hampered,” said an official.
“A proposal has been forwarded to the authorities for an alternative arrangement and also for the new RO plant, but the reply is yet awaited,” he added.
He further said that the existing plant is being repaired and will soon become operational. Purchase of new RO plant is also under consideration but, for the convenience, the patients as of now are being referred to the Associated Hospitals,” he asserted.
