At the direction of the Chief Minister, Professor (Dr.) Manik Saha, the Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, Kiran Gitty, visited the Dialysis Unit and Medicine Ward of GBP Hospital today (August 16, 2024) to conduct an on-the-spot inspection.
Recently, ESKaG Sanjivani Multispecialty Hospital has been entrusted with the responsibility of providing more advanced dialysis services in the hospital’s dialysis unit.
Based on complaints regarding service delivery, the Chief Minister directed Secretary Kiran Gitty to take necessary action. Accordingly, it was ensured that there were adequate doctors and technicians in the dialysis unit, and an investigation was conducted to determine if the patients were experiencing tremors and other discomforts due to the multiple use of dialysers.
Moreover, there were allegations of mistreatment and substandard service to the patients. Upon coming to the notice of Health Secretary Kiran Gitty, he directed that action be taken without delay. It is worth noting that the dialysis unit currently has the capacity to conduct dialysis for 22 people simultaneously.
As per the norm, there should be one technician for every three dialysis patients per shift. Currently, there are six technicians. He directed that this number be increased to seven. Necessary instructions were also given regarding tremors in patients during dialysis and the multiple use of dialysers. A decision has been taken to use each dialyser only once. It was also instructed to ensure that the employees of ESKaG Sanjivani Multispecialty Hospital treat the patients well.
Those present at the inspection along with the Health Secretary were Professor (Dr.) Anup Kumar Saha of Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital, Medical Superintendent Dr. Shankar Chakraborty, Additional Superintendent CDION Malsum, VA Bikash Debbarma, VA Rajesh Debbarma, Arula Dasgupta, Executive Engineer Nikhil Chandra Roy, and various other officials of Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital.
Actions taken:
Medical Superintendent Dr. Shankar Chakraborty has directed that a nephrologist should regularly inspect the dialysis unit. During the inspection of the medicine ward, the Health Secretary directed that more beds be arranged and that there be an adequate supply of stand fans. He directed Executive Engineer Nikhil Chandra Roy to carry out necessary repairs in the medicine ward and the Eye department as soon as possible. He also instructed to ensure that more beds can be arranged in the medicine ward through necessary repairs and renovations.
Regarding the allegation of no resident doctor being present in the dialysis unit, emphasis is being placed on arranging for a resident doctor. This is because approximately 100 patients undergo dialysis at Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital every day.
To ensure the quality of water used in dialysis in case of complaints of tremors during dialysis, samples of water used in dialysis, other than the agency, have been sent to the DWS office. To reduce the infection of dialysis catheters, the Infection Control Committee of Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital has been directed to conduct inspections every fifteen days.
The agency has been repeatedly prohibited from using a single dialyser multiple times. As per the Health and Family Welfare guidelines, a dialyser can be used multiple times (approximately 7 times) or once. There are both advantages and disadvantages of using a dialyser multiple times. However, Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital have decided to use each dialyser only once.
A fact-finding committee has been formed under the leadership of Professor VA Rajesh Kishore Debbarma of the Medicine Department to take measures to prevent patients from falling ill during dialysis and to investigate complaints in this regard.
Misconceptions:
The allegation of dialysis without water is a misconception among patients. This is because dialysis cannot be done without water. To dispel all the notions and misconceptions of the patients’ relatives, this matter has been investigated through nephrologists. Experts have said that sometimes, due to insufficient water, the dialysis machines are kept running for a few minutes, which creates this suspicion.
(Tripura, Tripura News)
