Kidney patients in Assam to get free dialysis in 18 select hospitals across the state

July 11: In a major relief to the kidney patients, Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday announced that a free hemodialysis programme in the state which will soon be operational. He said that the Government of Assam will launch Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Program (PMNDP) from June 14. PMNDP will run in 18 locations across Assam with Apollo Hospitals under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

A total of 105 Hemo-Dialysis machines for PMNDP have been allocated for these 18 centres. Till now, 45 machines have been installed across eight hospitals in Nalbari, Darrang, Sonitpur (2 hospitals), Tinsukia, Morigaon, Barpeta, Bongaigaon. As per reports, a dialysis session which costs from Rs.2000-Rs.3000 in addition to the cost of travel and medicines and other consumables will be done free of cost across these18 locations in the state.

The 8 hospitals where these machines have already been installed are:

1. SMK Civil Hospital, Nalbari
2. Mangaldai Civil Hospital, Darrang
3. Kanaklata Civil Hospital, Sonitpur
4. Tezpur Medical College & Hospital, Sonitpur
5. LGB Civil Hospital, Tinsukia
6. Morigaon Civil Hospital, Morigaon
7. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College, Barpeta
8. Bongaigaon District Hospital

In the second phase, the Dialysis programme will be operational at the following hospitals:

1. BP Civil Hospital, Nagaon
2. Sivasagar Civil Hospital
3. North Lakhimpur Civil Hospital
4. Dhemaji Civil Hospital
5. Diphu Civil Hospital
6. Dhubri Civil Hospital
7. Goalpara Civil Hospital.

In the third phase, the Dialysis programme will be operational at the following hospitals:

1. Jorhat Medical College
2. Karimganj Civil Hospital
3. Golaghat Civil Hospital

While the patients does not need to pay anything for the dialysis session, the government will pay the Apollo Hospitals Rs. 1296 each for the first year of service and then the rate will be increased at a rate of 8 percent each year till the termination of the contract. While addressing the media, Minister Biswa Sarma said, “The renowned Apollo Hospitals, Chennai has been chosen through detailed selection process by National Health Mission to implement the dialysis programme in Assam. The agreement was signed early this year for a period of five years.” Sarma said that while eight hospitals will have the facility started by June 20 this year, a total of 18 civil hospitals will be staring the facility within next six months time.

Though it was a very welcome news, but people of Cachar district lamented that not a single hospital over here was selected by the Minister where the Dialysis facility would be available for the kidney patients.