Govt boosts dialysis capacity in public hospitals nationwide

With an estimated 500 Guyanese currently undergoing dialysis, the Ministry of Health has announced a major expansion of dialysis treatment and prevention services across the public health sector. Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony said the Government is intensifying efforts to reduce new cases of chronic kidney disease, particularly among diabetics who are at higher risk of long-term kidney damage if their blood sugar is not properly managed. The Minister explained that prevention remains a critical part of the Ministry’s strategy. “We currently have maybe about 500 patients or so on dialysis, what we want to do is to work more to prevent chronic kidney diseases. And we are seeing that a number of persons who are diabetic, over time, if their blood sugar is not controlled, they can have chronic kidney problems.” According to Dr Anthony, the Ministry’s emphasis on early detection and preventive care is expected to curb the number of people requiring dialysis in the future. “So we have focused a lot of our work on prevention,” he added, “and hopefully we will start seeing a drop-off of the cases. So that’s one angle in which we are tackling this.” At the same time, the Government is moving to significantly expand dialysis treatment capacity in hospitals countrywide. Most public hospitals have already been equipped with dialysis chairs, and the six new regional hospitals are each being outfitted with two dedicated chairs.

“The second thing is that at all of our—well, most of our hospitals now—we have added dialysis chairs,” the Minister said. “So when people come to the hospital, we are able to provide that service for them at the hospital.” He added that dialysis services will begin soon in all six new regional hospitals. “And plus, we are looking at where we can add some more chairs,” he continued. “We are hoping that in the very near future, we will be adding 15 more dialysis machines to the public system.” Dr Anthony also acknowledged the longstanding role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in providing dialysis services, emphasising that Government expansion efforts are not intended to displace them. “Now, when dialysis started, it started by NGOs providing dialysis,” he said. “We don’t really want to usurp that service, and we try to find a way of how we can work together, because they play a very, very vital role.” He noted that the Government has partnered with NGOs to extend dialysis into regions where the service previously did not exist.
“For example, in Linden, we worked with one of these organisations,” he explained. “The Government provided the space at the Linden Hospital and the NGO provider was the one able to help manage that service. We did a similar thing in Essequibo.”
According to the Minister, these collaborations form a “public–private partnership” that ensures wider access to dialysis throughout the country. The Government currently provides an annual dialysis subvention of GY$600,000 to eligible patients to help offset treatment costs. However, the total cost varies based on treatment frequency and individual needs and remains beyond the reach of many Guyanese without additional support.