Dialysis patients get mammoth service with little resources

Dialysis patients get mammoth service with little resources – GPHC boasts

Oct 18, 2016 News

The Dialysis Centre at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is perhaps the only Unit that offers patients a cache of services that is intended to help cater to their all-round wellbeing. This is according to Head of the Centre, Dr. Kishore Persaud, who related that the hospital affords patients services ranging from the expected treatment to address their ailment to counselling.
These are offered in spite of the fact that the hospital has limitations in terms of finances, physical capacity and even staff.
In addition to Dr. Persaud, there are five General Medical Officers attached to the Centre. However, Dr. Persaud related that he would mostly have the support of four of the doctors, since one of them might be on leave. The Dialysis Centre also benefits from the expertise of a Chinese Nephrologist in addition to about six haemodialysis nurses. The Unit also has on board a pharmacist, social worker, dietician and a full-time secretary.
“It is the only team in the hospital with all these personnel attached to it,” said Dr. Persaud recently.
“Our dietician teaches the patients about what and how much they should eat; our pharmacist teaches them how to take their drugs and the social worker counsels them,” Dr. Persaud explained, as he spoke of the potential of patients becoming depressed because of their condition.
Counselling is an important part of a dialysis patient’s life, since research suggests that they are more likely to experience depression than the normal population. It has been speculated that the impact of depression on the progression of chronic kidney disease is continuous and evident at any stage of the disease.
“The reason for this connection may be because depression increases inflammation in the body and inflammation promotes progression of kidney disease. Additionally, chronic kidney failure disease patients with depression may not be compliant with medical treatment and may engage in unhealthy behaviours that cause poor medical outcomes,” one researcher concluded.
But the help offered is not only extended to patients alone, Dr. Persaud assured.
“We speak to the relatives every morning once they come around…they too get an opportunity to learn how to take care of the kidneys in terms of diet and taking medication,” the doctor disclosed.
The Dialysis Centre is outfitted with a television set which broadcasts educational programmes about kidney disease.
According to Chairman of the public hospital, Dr. Carl ‘Max’ Hanoman, “we are doing the best that we can.” He disclosed that while the hospital also offers a transplant service, the majority of kidney failure victims undergo dialysis treatment. In fact, during the past year close to 2,000 dialysis treatment sessions were conducted, while up to September of this year there were 1,404.
“This Centre has been utilised to its maximum…we have to give credit to our staff here who work diligently day and night to give a service to the patients,” Dr. Hanoman highlighted.
The Dialysis Centre conducts two out-patient clinics per week during which an average of 30 patients are attended to.
According to Dr. Persaud, dialysis is conducted six days per week with an average of nine patients per day. There are currently about 24 in-patient patients on dialysis, and Dr. Persaud disclosed that “we have approximately 120 patients total, both in inpatient and outpatient, who are on dialysis.”

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