Georgetown Hospital to open dialysis center

Jun 09, 2011 News

By Latoya Giles
With the aim of bringing better health care to Guyanese, Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has said that his Ministry, working with a Canadian Charity Group, is to set up a Dialysis Center at the Georgetown Public Hospital and another on East Coast Demerara.
On Tuesday, the Minister explained that they are working along with a Canadian Charity Group and a doctor to make the necessary arrangements.
“They have established here in Guyana, a chapter with different people to establish a dialysis centre…It will be in two parts,” the Minister said.
Dr Ramsammy explained that the group out of Canada has already hired a nephrologist from India, since Guyana does not have one. “We only have visiting nephrologist…so this person will be stationed in Guyana.”
A nephrologist is a physician who has been trained in the diagnosis and management of kidney disease, by regulating blood pressure, regulating electrolytes, balancing fluids in the body, and administering dialysis. According to the Minister the only nephrologist Guyana has, Dr Roger Luncheon, is not practising.
Dr Ramsammy said that over the next two weeks a team of dialysis technicians and nurses will arrive in Guyana to train local counterparts about the use of the machinery and how to treat the patients.
The Minister added that it is very difficult to say if the treatment will be free or if a price will be attached to it.
“…But if persons have to pay it will be less than half (what is charged now), which is significantly lower than the present price tag.”
The Minister said that in Guyana dialysis centres only offer Hemodialysis and this is being offered at two centers, 5 G Dialysis and the Balwant Singh Hospital.
Hemodialysis is a method for removing waste products such as creatinine and urea, as well as free water from the blood when the kidneys are in renal failure.
Hemodialysis is one of three renal replacement therapies; it can be done outpatient or inpatient
“At those centres it is every expensive …… it runs up to $175 usd per treatment and a person on dialysis needs the minimum of three treatments per week. I don’t think many Guyanese who are on dialysis can afford that,” Dr Ramsammy stated.
The Minister added that last year Government had spent some $10M for the support of people getting dialysis treatment.
“With this new venture we are hoping that the Ministry will be able to help more people…if we could lower the price, definitely more people would be able to benefit from the service,” Dr Ramsammy said.
Moreso with this new venture Dr Ramsammy said that the costs for other materials relating to the dialysis treatment would also be significantly reduced.
The Minister said that the replacement of catheters, a necessity for the treatment, would be given free of cost.
A Catheter sometimes called a CVC (Central Venous Catheter), consists of a plastic catheter with two lumens (or occasionally two separate catheters) which is inserted into a large vein (usually the vena cava, via the internal jugular vein or the femoral vein) to allow large flows of blood to be withdrawn from one lumen, to enter the dialysis circuit, and to be returned via the other lumen. However, blood flow is almost always less than that of a well functioning fistula or graft.
Catheters are usually found in two general varieties, tunneled and non-tunneled.
“Patients would have to go to private doctors to have their catheters replaced…..and this can cost up to a whopping US$200,” the minister disclosed.
The Minister said that they are hoping to put in three chairs at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
The chairs, he says, will be set up with their dialysis gadgets and equipment. Moreover, the same group is also setting up a private medical building on East Coast Demerara. This building will also be operated as a private dialysis center.
Like the other, this centre will be operating at a significantly low cost, which will benefit the people.
This “new” move, according to the Minister, will force the private entities to reduce their prices.
“We are not competing with the private places but we are just putting in more access, which would lead to a more affordable cost” Dr. Ramsammy said.
He also said that they are also looking at procuring the fluids for the treatment, which see a further discount.

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