Dialysis unit at P’kula Civil Hospital restarts after missing three deadlines
Ishrat S Banwait
tribune news service
Panchkula, January 2
The dialysis unit of the Civil Hospital in Sector 6 here restarted today, after having missed three deadlines.
The unit was started in September on a trial basis under a public-private partnership and served around 100 patients in the first month.
However, the eight-bed wing near the emergency could not comply with the norms set by the Health Department and was temporarily closed.
On November 13, the private firm was given a notice by the Health Department to fulfil the conditions in seven days and another for 15 days. The firm failed to do so and the deadline was again set for December 22. Civil Surgeon DK Bansal said they had demanded time till December 30. “They presented the documents which fulfil the important conditions and have started the unit again from today,” said Bansal.
However, the restart of the unit is on a trial basis and its functioning will be reviewed again soon. The main reason for the shutting down of the unit earlier was a shortage of man power and no regular nephrologist.
The private firm will now provide one dialysis doctor and three technicians, along with other staff, while a nephrologist will visit the unit once a week.
Sources said the firm has replaced the old staff, including the manager. The unit located near the emergency was built for Rs 15 crore and the cost of dialysis machines is more than Rs 1 crore. Dialysis is to be conducted at the government rates of around Rs 1,000. A dialysis at a private hospital costs between Rs 2,500 and Rs 4,500.
Cath lab to come up soon Under another public- private partnership, the hospital is set to open a cath lab at an estimated cost of Rs 9 crore.
It is expected to open before mid 2017 and stents for the heart patients will be installed for Rs 40,000 in these labs. Private hospitals charge around Rs 5 lakh for the treatment. Such cath labs will soon be set up in four districts, including Panchkula.
