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PMC issues notice to dialysis centre at Kamala Nehru Hospital
The Pune Municipal Corporation has issued a notice to the Lions Club of Pune, Mukundnagar Charitable Trust, which runs the Kamala Nehru Hospital dialysis centre, for failure to operate at full capacity. Only three out of the 15 dialysis machines at the centre have been functional, causing long waiting times for patients. The PMC has given the dialysis centre two days to submit a report on the issue, or else the lease agreement will be cancelled. The centre offers dialysis at a lower cost than private facilities, attracting a large number of patients.
With only three out of the 15 dialysis machines functional at the Kamala Nehru Hospital (KNH) dialysis centre for the past few days, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued notice to the dialysis centre for failure to run at total capacity.
In the wake of the civic body receiving several complaints from patients who claimed they had to wait for long hours or visit other facilities in far-off dialysis centres, the PMC issued notice Tuesday to the Lions Club of Pune, Mukundnagar Charitable Trust, which runs the dialysis centre on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Dr Sanjeev Wavare, assistant health officer of the PMC, said that it is a repetitive issue and even in the past, several machines at the dialysis centre have had to be kept closed. “We have asked them to run the facility at full capacity and submit a report within two days or the lease agreement will be cancelled. If they are unable to run the facility at full capacity, we have to cancel the agreement and appoint a new firm to run the centre,” Dr Wavare said.
According to the officials, even in June, most of the dialysis machines at the centre had to be kept shut. Currently, the situation is similar and patients have to wait long or look for other options. The non-functional machines have been lying un-serviced, which has put an additional usage burden on the functional ones.
Dr Wavare further informed that the cost of dialysis at this unit is ₹400 which otherwise costs around ₹1,500 to ₹2,500 at private facilities. Due to the nominal rates, the number of patients coming to the PMC facility for dialysis is huge. “There are seven other dialysis centres of the PMC and citizens can avail treatment at these facilities till the issue at the KNH dialysis centre is resolved,” he said.
Dr Manisha Naik, assistant health officer of PMC, informed that the notice has been issued and this time, the PMC will take stern action against the agency running the facility. Every time, the patients visiting this facility face similar problems which is unacceptable. “We have learnt that the dialysis unit is operating with less staff. The centre should ideally have an adequate number of doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff but most of the people working at the centre are technicians. No pre- or post- medical evaluation of the patients visiting the dialysis centre is done, which is important,” she said.
Despite repeated attempts, Nitin Naik who heads the dialysis centre at KNH could not be reached.
