Offers $15,000 per dialysis session
THE opening up of the Doobay Dialysis Centre, located at Annandale, East Coast Demerara last Thursday is a breath of fresh air for diabetics and hypertensive patients in Guyana who are victims of renal disease. Built at a cost of G$25M, with a mandate to provide dialysis to persons in need of it at an affordable cost, the registered non-profit organisation, pioneered by Dr. Ram Doobay and Vic Oudit and others, is a genuine collaboration between Canadian and Guyanese organisations and people who have made generous donations.
Dialysis, a medical procedure whereby a person with renal or kidney failure, needs to have – ideally three times per week, is generally very costly, and many people, though in need of it, cannot afford the cost thereby severely compounding their health condition.
What’s different about the Doobay Dialysis Centre?
At the Doobay Dialysis Centre, the system is designed to benefit persons who are poor and cannot afford to pay high costs. Therefore the stakeholders have brought the cost down to the amazingly low figure of US$75 or G$15,000 per dialysis session. But Dr. Ram Doobay whose brainchild the initiative was, feels that with help from more civic minded persons, the cost could be brought as low as US$25 per session. He said there is a fundamental principle that the stakeholders have agreed on. That is, that any person genuinely in need of dialysis and cannot afford it will not be turned away by the centre.”
Professor Carlaisle from McMaster University in Canada, who was part of the team setting up the facility, outlined that dialysis is a life-saving therapy for people with renal problems, but it can also be a very expensive procedure which many people cannot afford. Noting that kidney failure is a disease that strikes all ages – young and old, he said that, without dialysis, people with kidney failure would eventually die.
“With the opening of the Doobay Dialysis Centre, Guyanese can be assured of access to dialysis which is both affordable and also of the highest quality, meeting all international standards,” he said.
Dr. Carlaisle is optimistic that, showing people that dialysis care can be provided cost effectively, can be the stimulus for the opening up of other dialysis units across Guyana, broadening access to dialysis across this country. He credited the team he worked with here in Guyana as an amazing team and said he was proud to have worked with them. “As we move forward, it is my great hope that we can forge strong relationships with other hospitals such as the Georgetown Hospital, and the Ministry of Health, and I am confident that it is going to be a great success in the future,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ram Doobay, a very reputable Guyanese physician in the field, and who is a recipient of the Order of Ontario, emphasised that, while dialysis is essential for persons who have suffered renal failure, there is a primarily role for the Doobay Dialysis Centre. That is to help people with diabetes and renal problems, manage their condition, so as to avoid altogether, having to reach the stage of having to go on dialysis.
Dr. Doobay said: “Dialysis is not the proper answer to managing renal disease. Dialysis means that you have failed to manage renal disease. Therefore, what we aim to do at the Doobay Dialysis Centre is to prevent patients with renal disease from having to go on dialysis by monitoring closely their creating blood sugar reading and such things.”
To this end, he cautioned against placing people on dialysis too early when there are other procedures which can be employed. Alluding to some cases seen by him, he said that had their blood sugar and blood pressure been monitored and treated, it would have eliminated the need for dialysis. Hours before the launch of the facility the centre treated its first patient who has been a diabetic for eight years and eventually suffered a complete renal failure. As an incentive she was given free treatment on that occasion.
And another pioneer in the initiative, Dr. Vic Oudit, said that the centre would be working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) to meet the needs of such persons. As part of the protocol of collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the centre has already donated three dialysis machines to the GPHC, and is training nurses, both for that institution and the new facility. He said whilst no one knows exactly how many people in Guyana are in need of dialysis, from their calculation, there should be about 750 in that category in Guyana. Oudit is optimistic, that, if it’s God’s will, then dialysis centres are going to be replicated throughout Guyana.
And Dr. Surendra Persaud, a prominent Guyanese surgeon who has been with the facility from the very inception, expressed pride at being associated with the centre and recalled that when the stakeholders initially put forward the concept of dialysis for Guyana, many persons thought it could not work. Proud that the initiative has now come off the ground, Dr. Persaud, however reasoned that, though considerably reduced, cost could still challenge some persons in need of dialysis. He therefore called on other civic minded persons to consider giving generously to the fund from which they could benefit.
He said the team is working towards performing kidney transplantation in the future, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Georgetown Public Hospital which would be very cost effective for persons here, considering that one year of dialysis and eventual transplantation could cost about Cdn $110,000 outside of Guyana (including post surgery medication).
But, with the Doobay Dialysis Centre in place now, and future plans for kidney transplant to be done right here in Guyana, he anticipated it will be a whole lot easier for Guyanese with renal problems and requiring dialysis and subsequent kidney transplant to have it done at home, with Guyanese doctors performing the surgeries.
Delivering brief remarks on behalf of Canada which has played a great role in helping Guyana realize its dream of an affordable dialysis centre to meet the needs of the Guyanese people, was Canadian High Commissioner, His Excellency David Devine.
The High Commissioner who acknowledged the favourable relations enjoyed between Canada and Guyana through the years, applauded the stakeholders and expressed admiration for their dedication displayed in making the initiative a success. While acknowledging gratitude expressed by the Doobay Group, the Ambassador alluded to a bigger picture where he saw a combination of people across the world helping each other.
Of the stakeholders working to make life more comfortable for person with the health conditions alluded to, the High Commissioner said, “I could only express my appreciation for your dedication.  Overcoming such challenges in making today a reality, is really an amazing thing.” He pledged Canada’s support as the Doobay Centre continues to expand.
Major General Retd. Joe Singh, who is Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Kidney foundation launched last November, also had words of congratulations for the Doobay Dialysis Centre.