Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital subsidising dialysis cost

In light of the increasing need of dialysis treatment for patients suffering with kidney failure complications, Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital has now subsidised the cost for treatment.

As of September 1, the hospital is now charging patients $12,000 per dialysis session, a 20 per cent decrease from the original cost of $15,000.
According to the Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital, the move to lower its price for dialysis treatment is because of the great need for dialysis conducted under “adequate supervision” which is done by their in-house nephrologist.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Hospital, Dr Madhu Singh stated that there should be careful consideration when obtaining dialysis treatment.
She explained that the Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital’s resident Nephrologist, Dr Justo Tamayo has been in Guyana for over one year and oversees dialysis as well as does routine checks on their dialysis patients.
Meanwhile, Dr Velazquez said that the incidence of renal failure in Guyana is high because of the extremely high prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
“Patients need to be educated in the risks of not taking their medications and making lifestyle changes…Early diagnosis and treatment of renal impairment is essential to a good outcome. Prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes is better than dealing with the complications”.
The Regulations to the Health Facilities Licensing Act 2007 (Act No 26 of 2007) in Section 28, requires that every Dialysis Centre be supervised directly by a nephrologist.
Hemodialysis is a treatment that filters and purifies the blood using a machine. Dialysis keeps the fluid and different molecules and ions in your blood in balance when your kidneys cannot carry out this process efficiently. Most patients on dialysis have sessions done about two-three times per week, in order to maintain a good fluid and electrolyte balance. The dialysis treatment process is not standard and it is often tailored to a patient’s needs in order to maintain fluid levels and other parameters within the desired ranges.
Currently, the hospital’s dialysis centre has five machines, and plans are apace to expand this number to eight within the next month. An average of 200 to 300 dialysis sessions per month are conducted for outpatients.