Bengaluru: The IT City may have grabbed global attention, but it is paying a price for its high-stress lifestyle. With most paying little attention to diet and exercise in their pursuit of the good life and stressful jobs, the city has a high concentration of diabetics and of patients suffering from renal and kidney failure as a result of it.
Although its believed that nearly one per cent of Bengaluru’s one crore population could end up with kidney or renal failure requiring dialysis, only four government hospitals, K.C. General, Jayanagar Hospital, Bowring and the Institute of Nephro-Urology (INU) at the Victoria Hospital campus, are equipped to offer it.
The government-run INU conducts around 55 sessions of dialysis ever day and around 1400 every month, but still a large number remain waiting for their turn. “We are a 60-bed hospital and find it difficult to cater to the huge number needing dialysis with only 14 machines in the general ward,” says INU director, Chandrashekhar Ratkal.
“Primarily, it is a problem of adults as there are not enough dialysis centres in the city, especially in its government hospitals,” says Dr Phadke, professor of paediatric nephrology, Children’s Kidney Care Center, St. John’s Medical College.
With government hospitals not able to cater to the demand, many find it hard to afford this life-long treatment . The handful of private hospitals in the city that offer dialysis, charge Rs 1000 to Rs 3000 per session, a fee not many can pay. With the average cost of treatment per month amounting to Rs 20,000 many patients don't even complete the standard requirement of 12 sessions and end up losing their lives.
“Twelve dialysis sessions a month are a standard requirement. But because of the huge cost patients only take eight sessions and I have seen young people lose their lives because of this,” says Mr Anantha Kumar, founder of a city based non-profit, non-government organisation that helps patients in need of dialysis.
The 44-year-old good samaritan, who himself suffers from Chronic Kidney Disease(CKD) and is undergoing dialysis on a regular basis , has helped 45 patients go in for it so far. “But 115 more are waiting in queue for our help to get dialysis,” he reveals, indicating the magnitude of the problem.
