Many private dialysis centres in Ranchi have downed their shutters after the district administration sealed a dialysis centre where one of the COVID-19 patients underwent the medical process before testing positive. The development has caused panic among the kidney patients who undergo dialysis regularly, and cannot survive without it.
The patients, sources said, are in a catch-22 situation. On one hand, the private dialysis centres are closing, and on the other hand, the fear of contracting Coronavirus during dialysis is sending chills up their spine. "These are difficult times especially for us. If all the dialysis centres close, then where will we go for dialysis? The Government should do something for us," said Neeraj Kumar, a Ranchi resident who has been undergoing the process dialysis for more than a year now.
Most of the private dialysis centres have closed due to fear, said the owner of a dialysis centre in Ranchi. The administration, he said, quarantined the doctor who monitored the dialysis of a COVID-19 patient. His 25 odd employees were also quarantined, he added.
"There are two major fears for us. One is of contracting the virus and the second is of unknowingly performing dialysis of an infected person. In the second scenario, we will also be quarantined and our centres sealed," he said requesting anonymity.
However, the Government has clarified that dialysis centres and chemotherapy centres have to remain open during the lockdown. "We have not issued any directive of closing the dialysis centres. These are essential for patients and they should continue running," said Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni.
Besides the private clinics, dialysis is also done in many private hospitals and Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). However, there are only four dialysis machines in RIMS and too many patients across Ranchi, doctors said.
In the wake of the crisis, the Jharkhand chapter of Indian Medical Association (IMA) has requested Chief Minister Hemant Soren to increase manpower in Government hospitals in order to conduct dialysis of patients. "We need to have technicians working in shifts, and for this we need to appoint more people," said IMA President Dr. Pradeep
Kumar. Patients in need of dialysis are also facing problems due to the slow process of testing for Coronavirus, Kumar said. "A patient who needs dialysis cannot be asked to wait for his Coronavirus test reports. Rapid tests should be conducted for such patients," he added.