Plans for dialysis units in rural clinics

Star: PANGKOR: The Health Ministry will set up haemodialysis units in rural clinics where there is an extensive demand for such treatment.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said, however, that the units would only be set up if the clinics were located close to district or state hospitals with high numbers of kidney patients.
“This is because before a kidney patient is sent for haemodialysis treatment, he or she has to first receive authorisation from the hospital’s specialist,” he said after opening the Pulau Pangkor Health Clinic haemodialysis unit yesterday.
The unit, operational since Jan 23 last year, is the first in the country to be run by a clinic instead of a district or state hospital.
If proven successful, he said future units would be based on the Pangkor model.
“For every one million Malaysians, 100 suffer from kidney problems, which is the highest in the world,” Dr Chua said.
“In fact, we estimate the 15,000 patients we have now will exceed 20,000 by 2010.”
He added that the Government had spent more than RM20mil last year to help those seeking haemodialysis treatments.
“We subsidised RM50 for each treatment sought by patients at the haemodialysis centres run by NGOs and given direct grants in the form of dialysis machines to qualified NGOs,” Dr Chua said.
He added that his ministry would be seeking more funds for this purpose.
On another matter, he said his ministry had approved RM100,000 to upgrade medical equipment onboard the island’s only ferry ambulance here.
“This will go towards a special bed which will also enable pregnant women to give birth onboard, an oxygen tank, trolley and other equipment to handle accident-related emergencies,” he added.
The ferry has been transporting patients from here to Manjung Hospital since 1999.