At District Hospital on KRS Road, Saligrama and Saragur Taluk Hospitals

Mysore/Mysuru: Three new Dialysis Centres will be established in Mysuru under Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP). While one will be at the District Hospital on KRS Road and the other two will come up at the Taluk Hospitals of Saragur and Saligrama.

Health Commissioner D. Randeep told Star of Mysore that the Health Department is coming up with 51 new Dialysis Centres. “As of now, there are 168 Dialysis Centres in Karnataka under PMNDP, including 146 in Taluk Hospitals and 22 in District Hospitals. A fresh tender has been floated to find an agency to manage all Government Dialysis Centres run under PMNDP,” Randeep said.

At the District Hospital in Mysuru, a 10-bed dialysis facility will come up and the tender process has started. “Very soon, we will have the facility in the hospital as well as at Saragur and Saligrama. Once the Taluk Hospitals are equipped with Dialysis Centres, they have been directed not to refer the patients to either K.R. Hospital or District Hospital,” Randeep added.

It may be mentioned here that Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao is taking measures to address the state of State-run Dialysis Centres and has instructed officials to initiate a fresh tender.

The Minister noted that of the 168 operating Dialysis Centres, 145 centres operate without the supervision of a Nephrologist. The initiative’s portal confirms the availability of 633 functional dialysis machines.

Acknowledging the subpar condition of the centres, the Minister expressed concern about the high cost of each dialysis procedure. The current cost of dialysis, which stands at Rs. 1,120, is unreasonably high and should be reduced through the new tender, the Minister said.

“Upon reviewing the current tender with officials, it became apparent that the prices are exorbitant. Therefore, a new tender will be introduced to bring down the cost while ensuring improved quality. We will also address the shortage of Nephrologists in these centres,” Dinesh Gundurao said.

 In the Taluk Hospitals, each Dialysis Centre is currently managed by a technician and a staff nurse during each shift. However, under the new conditions, the service provider will be required to employ a Nephrologist for each district that has a Dialysis Centre.

 The Nephrologist will have the responsibility to visit all Taluk Centres on a rotation basis or be available through call or video conference to provide care for the patients. This step aims to ensure specialised medical supervision and support for dialysis patients in the Taluk Hospitals.

Randeep explained that the lack of oversight has resulted in a decline in the quality of services. Once the new tender is implemented, officials will ensure that vendors upload details for every dialysis performed on the PMNDP portal, and their compensation will be based on accurate reporting.