Kidney Patients in Danger Over a Malfunctioning Renal Unit at Malindi Hospital
one of the 50 kidney patients who are currently staring death due to the malfunctioning of the dialysis machine (Photo/ The COAST Photographer)
By the COAST Reporter
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
Some 50 kidney patients are staring death in the eye after Malindi Sub county Hospital’s Renal Unit dialysis machines stopped working optimally.
In fact, only one out of the eight machines is working, forcing the health unit to reduce time a patient takes during dialysis sessions from usually four hours to two so as to accommodate more patients.
“Usually, a kidney patient requires at least two of four-hour dialysis sessions per week, but now each of us is forced to go through the process once a week, with each session lasting only two hours,” said Stephen Angore, one of the patients.
According to him most of the patients cannot afford the Sh12,000 charged by private health facilities per session and they have been relying solely on the Subcounty Hospital renal unit for their survivals.
“The private health facilities such as Tawfiq and Mephi hospitals require us to pay cash because they claim to have issues with the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), but we cannot afford such cash per session.”
He said the problem started last year when five machines collapsed, forcing the county government to install three new ones which have also broken down leaving only one operating.
The patient blamed the hospital management for not servicing the machines saying the operational one does not have a dialyzer rendering it ineffective.
Calling for Governor Gideon Mung’aro’s personally intervention, the patient said they were facing possible death if they failed to get their weekly renal services that were crucial for their day-to-day life survival.
“Due to lack of proper dialysis, we are unable to sleep because we cannot breathe properly and that our limbs are swollen.”
Echoing his sentiments, Abdulahi Golo alleged he had witnessed the death of some renal patients due to lack of dialysis, and asked the county government to prioritize the unit in order to save lives.
Daniel Wambua reminded the governor to remember his campaign pledges that he would purchase ten dialysis machines at the facility as well as revamp the entire health sector in the county.
While Zilpah Wanje asked the county government to address the lack of reagents at the renal facilities saying even when the machines were fully operational, there was lack of reagents to enable the health experts to assess the progress of their patients.
Contacted for comments, the Malindi Subcounty Hospital superintendent Dr David Mang’omg’o admitted there were problems at the renal unit, but said the process of fixing them were on advanced stage.
On a phone interview, however, he denied claims that the renal unit lacked dialyzers.
