Kidney patients bemoan cost of dialysis treatment

Kidney patients bemoan cost of dialysis treatment
By Agness Changala
Sat 30 Oct. 2010, 04:00 CAT

PATIENTS suffering from kidney failure have appealed to President Rupiah Banda to help reduce the cost of undergoing the dialysis process at Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

Kenny Lundu, a Lusaka resident currently undergoing the dialysis process at the UTH, said he bought a fistula in Zimbabwe at a cost of US$7,000 a year ago. Lundu said his employers gave him a loan and they were still deducting from his salary. He said he usually attended three sessions in a week at the hospital at a cost of K600,000.

“Then about K300,000 for other medications which comes to K1 million a week and in a month K4 million,” he explained.

Lundu said it was clear that accessing the service was not easy and most people were dying because they could not afford.

He said if the government could reduce the price further or make the service free, more people could afford the treatment.

Lundu said as a civil servant, his salary was too low and the only option to save his life was to get a loan.

Another patient who declined to be named bemoaned the cost of accessing the service.

She said as much as they were happy that the machines to save their lives had increased in number, the cost was too high.

To start the dialysis process, patients suffering from acute renal failure curable require a temporary tube to be connected to the dialysis machine which costs K600,000, while those suffering from chronic renal failure require a permanent tube which is pegged at K3 million. The other alternative to a permanent tube is a fistula, which is a connection between the vein and an artery, making it easier to put a needle for a connection to the dialysis machine. The operation to insert the fistula was usually done in South Africa and Zimbabwe at a cost of K35 million. However, this operation will now be performed in the country at a lower cost.

Thereafter, the patient has to undergo one session of haemo blood dialysis cleaning at a cost of K400,000. Each patient requires three sessions in a week. Those on permanent dialysis chronic renal failure pay K200,000 while the government pays K200,000. Those suffering from acute renal failure where recovery is expected access the temporary tube and haemo dialysis for free.

During the commissioning of the Renal Dialysis Unit at UTH on Thursday, President Rupiah Banda said it was common knowledge that the number of patients with kidney-related complications was increasing in Zambia.

He said on average, 10 patients attended dialysis sessions per day, culminating in an average of 190 sessions per month.

President Banda said the cost of refurbishment of the ward with the partner Tokushikai Medical Group had totalled K3.5 billion.

However, he said the cost did not include the training of three nurses, one doctor and one technician, which was facilitated by the Tokushikai Medical

Group in conjunction with Nitro Medical, the manufacturers of the machines.

President Banda expressed gratitude to the company for bringing to Zambia such quality equipment and for training staff to operate the machines.

And Japanese company executive director Katsuyuki Noso said the equipment would help Zambia provide quality health services to the people.

Noso said the government would also save on the costs to send patients abroad.

The newly-launched Renal Dialysis Unit comprises 10 new machines, bringing the total number of the machines at UTH to 13.