By Alhagie Jobe
There is a serious shortage of medical supplies at the Nephrology Unit of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) formerly Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) in Banjul, the Fatu Network has confirmed.
According to reliable medical sources, on Thursday, July 28, 2016, all patients with Kidney disease were sent home by the doctor who was in charge as there was no supplies for Dialysis treatment for the kidney patients.
Dialysis is a treatment that does some of the things done by healthy kidneys. It is needed when the person’s own kidney can no longer take care of his or her body’s needs. Kidney Dialysis is a life-support treatment that uses a special machine to filter harmful wastes, salt, and excess fluid from ones blood. This restores the blood to a normal, healthy balance. Dialysis replaces many of the kidney’s important functions. If the kidneys fail, one will need Dialysis or a kidney transplant to take over their job and keeps the body in balance by removing waste, salt and extra water to prevent them from building up in the body; keeping a safe level of certain chemicals in the blood, such as potassium, sodium and bicarbonate and helping to control blood pressure.
“Each patient requires Dialysis three times a week. Every day, two groups- 13 patients in the morning and 13 patients in the afternoon, making it a total of total of 26 people per day and 52 people per week. This is life threatening. A contracted supplier from Senegal on Saturday brought in medical supplies for the Dialysis treatment for the Kidney patients. It costs D1, 600. 00 and every patient needs D1, 600.00 three times per week making a total of D4, 200.00 per patient which will cost each patient D 16,800.00 monthly” he explained.
According to our source, the Gambia government should immediately intervene and rescue the hospital as so many lives are at risk. “This is the only process available in a malfunctioning of kidney in the human body” the source concluded.
