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PMC to start four new dialysis centres in Pune
Pune Municipal Corporation will open a dialysis centre with 10 beds at Sundarabai Ganpat Raut Hospital in Kelewadi, Paud Road, with three more planned. The centres will be awarded to the agency providing dialysis at the lowest rate, with the chosen private player running the Raut Hospital centre for the next decade. The PMC will provide space, while the private player will supply machinery and manpower. The centres will be run on a public-private partnership basis, with 10 beds each, and will charge nominal rates for dialysis. The PMC has 12 dialysis centres in the city with four to 10 beds each.
Due to the rise in cases of renal (kidney) disease and the number of patients requiring dialysis facilities, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to increase the number of dialysis centres in the city. The civic body on Wednesday issued a tender to start a dialysis centre with 10 beds at (late) Sundarabai Ganpat Raut Hospital in Kelewadi, Paud Road. The PMC will add three more dialysis centres in the next couple of months, officials said.
Confirming the development, Dr Sanjeev Wavare, assistant health officer, PMC, said that work will be allotted to the lowest bidder. “The dialysis centres will be allotted to the agency that provides dialysis at less than Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates. The dialysis centre at Raut Hospital will have 10 beds for patients with renal disease, excluding those diagnosed with HIV and Hepatitis,” Dr Wavare said.
The dialysis centre at Raut Hospital will be run by the chosen private player for the next 10 years, and services will be provided at nominal cost to the citizens. The PMC will provide space of around 1,500 square feet for the unit at the PMC-run hospital. Water and electricity charges will be paid by the PMC whereas the said private player will provide machinery and manpower for the unit.
Ravindra Binawade, additional commissioner, PMC, said that current dialysis centres run by the PMC have received a good response but more dialysis centres are needed. “The time taken by a patient for dialysis is more due to which other patients have to wait. The number of kidney ailments is increasing and the charges for dialysis in private centres are high. It is not a one-time expense and dialysis is required regularly by patients. Due to this, we have decided to add four dialysis centres and the process is underway.”
Binawade informed that all four dialysis centres will be run on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, and will have 10 beds each. “PMC takes nominal charges for dialysis at its facilities but the protocols for hygiene and cleanliness, distance of dialysis patients from each other, and patient turnover between dialysis sessions among other infection prevention practices are strictly followed,” he said.
Currently, the PMC has 12 dialysis centres in the city with each such centre having around four to 10 beds. Only one recently opened facility in Bopodi has dialysis facility for HIV and Hepatitis patients. The civic body charges around Rs400 (without discount) and Rs200 (with discount – poor patients) for dialysis. However, with the merger of the villages, the need for more medical facilities in the PMC jurisdiction has increase
