Govt plans kidney dialysis services at district, upazila hospitals

The government is planning to expand kidney dialysis services to district and upazila-level hospitals to ensure patients outside major cities have better access to treatment, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said today (13 July).

Speaking at an event in Dhaka, the minister said steps are being taken to establish 50-bed dialysis centres at medical college hospitals and 10-bed centres at district and upazila hospitals.

At present, dialysis facilities in Bangladesh are largely concentrated in Dhaka and other major cities, leaving many patients in remote areas without access to regular treatment. Health experts say limited access to dialysis remains a major reason behind poor outcomes among kidney patients.

The health minister said a project titled "Upgrading existing kidney dialysis centres at medical college hospitals to 50 beds and establishing 10-bed kidney dialysis centres at district hospitals" is currently being implemented.

Under the project, infrastructure development and procurement of medical equipment are underway at 15 medical college hospitals and 44 district hospitals. The project is expected to be completed by December 2027, he added.

Earlier, in February 2020, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved a project to establish 50-bed dialysis centres at 22 medical college hospitals and 10-bed centres at 44 district hospitals. 

The project was scheduled to be completed between January 2020 and December 2022 but failed to meet the deadline.

According to the Kidney Awareness Monitoring and Prevention Society (KAMPS), around 3.8 crore people in Bangladesh are currently suffering from some form of kidney disease. Around 40,000 kidney patients require regular dialysis every year.

Bangladesh Renal Association data shows that the country has around 146 dialysis centres, with 65-70% located in Dhaka, making access to dialysis services difficult for patients in rural and remote areas.

The cost of dialysis is also a major challenge. In government hospitals, a dialysis session costs around Tk2,800, while the cost is around Tk1,700 when dialysers are reused. In private hospitals, the cost is Tk5,000 or more per session.

Prof MA Samad, president of KAMPS, said expanding dialysis facilities closer to patients' homes would significantly reduce their hardship as most patients require dialysis two to three times a week.

"However, establishing dialysis centres alone will not be enough. Ensuring regular and quality services will be the biggest challenge," he told The Business Standard.

He said each dialysis centre requires trained nephrologists, dialysis nurses, technicians and skilled technical staff for equipment maintenance. However, Bangladesh still faces a shortage of trained dialysis technicians and lacks recognised government training facilities for them.

Samad also stressed the need for sustainable funding, saying a dialysis session requires around Tk2,000-Tk2,500 to cover consumables, equipment operation and other costs.

"If these issues are addressed in a coordinated manner, establishing dialysis services at the upazila level will be a very positive initiative and will greatly benefit kidney patients," he added.