Due to three dysfunctional reverse osmosis (RO) plants, 12 hemodialysis machines have been rendered idle since over 10 days, which are installed on ground floor of the Dialysis Centre working in Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH). Over fifty kidney-failure patients get hemodialysis daily at the centre in three shifts.
Head of Department (HoD) and Senior Registrar of Nephrology Dr Ghulam Abbas Qadri told this scribe on Saturday that he had written four letters to the CMCH Medical Superintendent (MS) within a week but to no avail. He said eight other hemodialysis machines were also installed on the first floor of the building with separate ROs, which had not yet been handed over to the authorities. He said that according to expert engineers, membranes of RO plants regularly get choked due to which these sophisticated machines become out of order.
In his letter, Dr Qadri wrote to MS that due to non-operation of RO plants, hemodialysis machines of hepatitis negative, hepatitis C positive and HIV positive machines have become inoperative, which may create law and order situation; hence all three RO systems should be repaired immediately.
Cost of each membrane is approximately Rs 40,000 and each RO plant has two membranes, which meant that because of unavailability of required funds of Rs 160,000, two RO plants were left nonworking since over ten days and over 50 dialysis patients have been deprived of this life-saving facility for no fault of theirs at all. He said even SIUT team visited the Centre on Friday who also were apprised of the prevailing situation. He said poor patients of several districts of Sindh and parts of Balochistan are benefited from this free facility, who are now being referred to other healthcare facilities. An expert engineer told this Correspondent on the condition of anonymity that Total Dissolve Solid (TDS) of subsoil water has reached to 1100 mg per liter which means underground water has become highly heavy and contaminated. He said that prime function of membranes is to reduce contamination to zero and supply pure water to the Hemodialysis machines so that patients are not infected with other relevant diseases, their kidneys remain safe and in order. He said in 2010 when the subsoil water of CMCH’s Civil Hospital Block was got tested from PCSIR laboratory, it’s TDS was 700 which now has increased to 1100 hence unfit even for human consumption according to WHO recommendations. He said due to increase in TDS, membranes get choked frequently and stop working which is why Hemodialysis machines have been nonoperational. He said there is no post of RO technician in the 1500-bed capacity CMCH which also has multiplied the woes of the patients. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also taken notice of non-functional dialysis machines and had inquired about the issues on Friday during his video link conference with the district administration. CMCH MS Dr Ershad Hussain Kazmi said that if the membranes and filters are received tonight through an ambulance service, which have already been procured, then the hemodialysis machines will be made functional within the next 48 hours or else next week. He said membranes have been procured but supply has been delayed due to lockdown. He said fundamental issue is of underground water TDS level which has sharply increased. He said SIUT experts have also been consulted over the issue. He said he will ensure to keep membranes and filters in ready stock in future after the lockdown is over so that poor needy patients should not suffer.
