Under Prime Minister’s National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP) of the National Health Mission, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has made dialysis centres available across all 20 districts of UT in which hundreds of sessions are held every day.
These centres are giving a new lease of life to poor patients who don’t have resources to travel to far off places or get admission in private hospitals.Officials say the scheme to establish dialysis centres in every district began four years and now these centres are operational in each district of the UT.
The project is part of Prime Minister’s National Dialysis Programme which was initiated in 2016, however, in J&K, it started two years later.
Additional chief secretary, health and medical education, Atal Dullo said, “Under NHM, free of cost dialysis sessions are conducted for patients from below poverty line (BPL) economic group and for non-BPL patients, the benefit is available at a subsidised rate of ₹950 per session.”
NHM director Yasin Choudhary said under this programme, 5 to 8 dialysis machines as per workload have been installed in each of the dialysis centres and a total of 125 machines stand installed till date in the UT of J&K, of which 62 dialysis machines were provided by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, GoI, 40 by World Bank and 22 procured under National Health Mission in the UT.
{{/usCountry}}NHM director Yasin Choudhary said under this programme, 5 to 8 dialysis machines as per workload have been installed in each of the dialysis centres and a total of 125 machines stand installed till date in the UT of J&K, of which 62 dialysis machines were provided by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, GoI, 40 by World Bank and 22 procured under National Health Mission in the UT.
{{/usCountry}}Till date, more than 35,000 dialysis sessions have been conducted in these centres, and over 952 chronic patients suffering with renal diseases have been registered.
Bashir Ahmad, a resident of old town said, “I had to travel to Srinagar for treatment prior to the establishment of dialysis centres in Baramulla. Now I get dialysis done at the medical hospital.” Ahmad, however, said the government should increase the number of machines at every centre.