The hospital authorities claim that patients can get a dialysis for Rs 250, which is similar to what is charged at Bir Hospital. [break]
Moreover, the centre is going to operate 20 hemodialysis machines immediately in a first phase and an additional 20 machines will be bought in during the upcoming fiscal year.
The hospital said that the patients themselves have to buy the materials and medicines needed for dialysis, and these cost around Rs 800 of per session.
Normally, the cost of a dialysis at private centers ranges from Rs 3,000 to 6,000. A patient needing dialysis has to go to a dialysis center thrice a week and get hooked up to the machine for four hours at a time.
People suffering from kidney failure require such dialysis for life time unless they undergo a kidney transplant. Renal patients can end up losing all their property to pay for dialysis and then die leaving their families destitute.
Patients seeking services at Bir Hospital have to wait for years because of the long list of patients. Hospital authorities said that a new patient can get dialysis only if an existing patient dies or goes for transplant.
According to Dr Pukar Shrestha, executive director of the kidney hospital, a large numbers of chronic kidney patients are compelled to forego dialysis because of high costs. “Hundreds of renal patients will benefit as we are going to provide our services at Bir Hospital rates," said Dr Shrestha, who is also chief of transplant unit at the Nephrology Department under Bir.
“We planned to start the service within this week, but due bureaucratic procedures an additional few days will be needed to bring the service into operation,“ he said, adding that the hospital will start transplant services within weeks. “All the equipment for the operation theater has arrived and the work of installing it is now going on.” He said that he will enlist help from his team of doctors to start the services soon.
Patients can get a kidney transplant for Rs 100,000, the same rate as at Bir. The hospital said that the sum buys the complete transplant package and patients do not have to pay additional charges for bed, ICU, ECG and other things.
“We provide a world class service at a nominal price. No one gets such cheap nephrology services anywhere else in the world,” he claimed.
The hospital administration is also planning to start its own pharmacy, where patients can get drugs at up 30 percent less than earlier.
The hospital started its outdoor patient department (OPD) from February this year.
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