Mysuru: The dialysis units at the State-owned K.R. Hospital in city has been turning away hundreds of patients with kidney ailments daily. Reason: Heavy rush, non-functional machines and shortage of machines.

Patients coming to the hospital from as far as Malavalli near Mandya are either returning back without treatment or are waiting in lodges for their turn to come. K.R. Hospital caters to the need of patients from Mysuru, Mandya, Hunsur, H.D. Kote and even the far-flung Chamarajanagar.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Shivaswamy, a resident of Malavalli, said that he has been doing the rounds of K.R. Hospital since the last two years for dialysis of his 15-year-old son. “Since the last 10 days, I have not been able to take my son for dialysis as the units are shut there. On an average, over 50 patients come to the hospital daily for dialysis and they are callously being turned away as most of the units are non-functional,” he said.

He said that he had come to Mysuru all the way from Malavalli to get his son treated. “I spent money as lodging charges and when I questioned the nurses and the people who manage the dialysis units, they asked me to go to Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences and get my son treated there,” he alleged.

Shivaswamy said that his family depends on the marketing job he does. “I have applied leave and am staying in Mysuru for my son. I cannot afford the treatment costs at private hospitals,” he said and added that patients are being sent to certain private hospitals where they charge at least Rs.5,000 to Rs.8,000 for a dialysis session.

When SOM did a reality check on the dialysis units at K.R. Hospital, there were nine non-functional dialysis units there. The machines are not working since a couple of days and there is a shortage of machines. Due to this shortage, there is excessive pressure on the existing machines.

To manage the rush, the hospital authorities are making batches of outpatients and are issuing tokens so that the patients can come on that day for dialysis. However, there is no issue in the inpatients section. “We are waiting for a few technicians and engineers to repair the dialysis units. We are giving tokens to the patients to handle the crowd,” a doctor said while denying that patients are being sent to private hospitals.

Dr. Srinivas, Medical Superintendent, K.R. Hospital, told SOM that over 10 new dialysis machines have arrived and the disruption in the service was caused due to installation problems of these new machines.

“We have set up these machines at Urology and Nephrology Department and special care will be taken to treat the patients. This is a minor hiccup that is caused by heavy rush as we receive over 50 patients who need dialysis,” he said. The problem will be resolved in one or two days till the new machines are installed, he added.