Dialysis patients cry over long wait

There are six dialysis machines at the Mt Hope complex but one has been out of service for the past two weeks. Three shifts are done daily starting from 7 am and ending at 9 pm. Even so, the service is being hampered because too many people are waiting for treatment, a dialysis patient complained on Thursday.

“There are people who are warded who need dialysis and they have to be fitted between scheduled patients,” the patient said, who claimed some are being sent to a private hospital in St Augustine.

On Tuesday, Health Minister John Rahael described the number of patients with end stage renal failure as an “epidemic situation.”

The patient said when he tried to find out about repairs he was informed that a part for the machine had to be flown into TT and the paper work was being done.

Due to the number of patients in need of dialysis, the patients dialysing twice weekly get four hours on the machine while the patients dialysing three times get three and a half hours.

“When a machine down it is a crisis, they run the unit according to how many machines they have. When the doctor comes from ward and say there is an acute patient and make space, some adjustments have to be made.”

He said nurses are unhappy with the situation because transport is not provided by the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) although they are leaving the EWMSC at night.

The patient said the dialysis at Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) did not go beyond pm 4 .

“If any patient comes after, they have to wait until the next day or come to Mt Hope,” adding that he said this is causing a “back up”.

A source at the NCRHA told Newsday that the part for the non-functioning machine is at the Port-of-Spain port awaiting clearance and the “new machines should be supplied in six to eight weeks.” There was no information about the patients being referred to a private facility for dialysis.