Ministry says no to new dialysis centres

the star

BY LOH FOON FONG

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry has stopped issuing new licences for dialysis centres and will close down existing ones that do not meet requirements and endanger patients’ safety.

There are now 560 haemodialysis centres nationwide run by NGOs and private firms but only 326 have licences from the ministry.

Deputy Health director-general Datuk Dr S. Jeyaindran said the centres that failed to meet standards would be closed down in stages after being given enough time for compliance.

The ministry would also find suitable alternative centres to relocate patients.

“Two haemodialysis centres, one in Kuala Lumpur and the other in Penang, were closed down recently,” he said.

Health woes: A patient receiving haemodialysis treatment at the CAT Dialysis Centre in Balik Pulau, Penang. 

Out of the 234 unlicensed centres, 114 had structural problems, were run without proper policies and did not submit applications for approval.

The issuance of licences to 80 centres was deferred because the operators did not comply with requirements as promised while another 40 centres did not have trained staff.

The pinching of staff also meant that some centres, whose employees had left, were unable to meet the requirements.

Operating licences of haemodialysis centres are renewable every two years, subject to meeting the ministry’s criteria.

Last month, The Star highlighted the plight of haemodialysis patients whose approvals for a government subsidy of RM600 per month were delayed.

An estimated 5,000 new kidney patients were diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure each year over the last three years. About half the patients going to NGO-run centres need treatment subsidy from the Government.

Dr Jeyaindran said the ministry had given out almost RM45mil (RM2mil in subsidy for dialysis and RM21mil in subsidy for erythropoietin injections each year), not including aid given by other government agencies.

Erythropoietin is a hormone produced by the kidneys and controls red blood cell production.

Click on graphic for larger view. 

He said the ministry was looking for companies to donate dialysis machines to ensure that the lower income group also received haemodialysis treatment with patient safety adhered to, as done by Maybank and Tabung Haji.

“We have the capacity for 1,700 dialysis slots but we only have 1,500 machines and need 200 more,” he said.

He said sponsorship from non-government entities was in keeping with the Prime Minister’s call for a public-private partnership, which encouraged optimum utilisation of resources.

On the training of renal staff, he said the ministry and the Malaysian Society of Nephrology had started a 200-hour programme on dialysis management for 60 doctors and also increased the number of renal nurses being trained.

There will be three more programmes to ensure an adequate number of trained doctors and nurses by the end of next year.

Related story:

Group: Government should set up new kidney dialysis centres in rural areas

BY RAZAK AHMAD AND RUBEN SARIO

PETALING JAYA: The National Kidney Foundation chairman Datuk Dr Zaki Morad called upon the Health Ministry to approve applications to set up new kidney dialysis centres in rural areas

“In rural areas, patients need to travel long distances, up to three times a week, to the nearest dialysis centre and this is a burden for many.

“We need more centres in smaller populated rural locations, especially in Sabah and Sarawak,” said Dr Zaki.

He said investors would not be interested in setting up dialysis centres in many rural locations because it was not possible to turn in a profit with the sparse populations.

“We should consider setting up more centres via partnerships between the government and non-profit organisations,” said Dr Zaki, adding that the centres must also be run efficiently, using the machines to treat more people.

He said that although one machine could cater to six patients, many centres only served three to four patients per machine.

For three patients in Sabah, getting to haemodialysis treatment is a two-hour boat ride followed by another two hours on a four-wheel drive vehicle to the nearest district hospital.

The patients, including an 11-year-old child from the remote interior settlement of Pagalungan in the Pensiangan district undergo this process each time they need treatment.

State Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Datuk Sairin Karno said they would have to take a boat to Sapulut before hopping on board a four-wheel drive vehicle to the Keningau district hospital, adding that the journey was only possible if the weather was fine.

Sairin, who is Liawan assemblyman, said the Keningau hospital had six haemodialysis machines but they were insufficient.

“We have asked the authorities to provide machines to smaller hospitals such as the one in Nabawan.

“This will make the treatment more accessible to rural folk,” he said.

He said the Welfare Department should also provide financial aid to kidney patients from remote areas who have to travel to towns to get haemodialysis treatment.