CITING an increased demand for dialysis in Guyana, Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital, on Saturday, announced that it is offering dialysis sessions at a subsidised cost of $12,000 per session.

According to a release, the hospital said its centre is currently open on Monday to Saturday from 07:00hrs to 19:00hrs and will soon be offering a Sunday clinic so that it can accommodate patients who are still able to work.

It was noted that in addition to the demand for the sessions, there is an even greater need for dialysis to be done under adequate supervision, which is done by the hospital’s in-house nephrologist. The hospital said the price of $12,000 is on par with the not-for-profit Doobay Dialysis and cheaper than other private centres.

CEO of the hospital, Dr Madhu Singh said, “Before choosing a dialysis centre, patients must enquire about whether the centre offers direct supervision of their patients by a nephrologist. We have made the efforts to have a full-time nephrologist who provides this service. We are the only private dialysis centre that offers this service along with our highly-competitive prices”.

The hospital said its resident nephrologist is Cuban, Dr. Justo Tamayo Velazquez, and has been in Guyana for over a year and oversees dialysis as well as conducts routine checks on dialysis patients.

“It is important for the safety of a dialysis centre to have a nephrologist supervising the patients’ sessions and making appropriate adjustments,” the hospital said.
Dr. Velazquez has more than 25 years of experience in nephrology with several years of teaching experience. He has served as the president of the Board for the Nephrology specialists in Cuba, the hospital added.

“The incidence of renal failure in Guyana is high because of the extremely high prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Patients need to be educated in the risks of not taking their medications and making lifestyle changes,” Dr Justo said. In addition, he said that, “early diagnosis and treatment of renal impairment is essential to a good outcome. Prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes is better than dealing with the complications.”

The Regulations to the Health Facilities Licensing Act 2007 (Act No 26 of 2007) in Section 28, requires that every dialysis centre be supervised directly by a nephrologist, and the hospital said that it is meeting this requirement.

Hemodialysis is a treatment that filters and purifies the blood using a machine. Dialysis keeps the fluid and different molecules and ions in the blood in balance when the kidneys cannot carry out this process efficiently. Most patients on dialysis have sessions done about two-three times per week, in order to maintain a good fluid and electrolyte balance. The dialysis treatment process is not standard and it is often tailored to a patient’s needs in order to maintain fluid levels and other parameters within the desired ranges.
Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital first introduced this service here in 2010. The hospital said, initially, it was introduced as part of the inpatient services for critical patients with renal failure, but then expanded to an outpatient service.

Currently, the hospital’s centre has five machines, and the institution would be expanding this to eight machines within the next month. The hospital said it conducts two to three hundred dialysis sessions per month for outpatients.