Government is saddened that a lot of people have died of renal failure due to lack of dialysis machines in hospitals.

Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge said this when he visited Ndola Central Hospital (NCH) to have an on the spot check of the institution’s psychiatric unit which is being constructed at a total cost of K14 million.

Mr. Musenge who was accompanied by Copperbelt Permanent Secretary Howard Sikwela said it was sad to note that many people had died of renal failure due to lack of dialysis machines in most hospitals across the country.

Mr. Musenge who was briefed by Head of Clinical Care Sebstian Chinkoyo that Ndola Central Hospital will by June this year receive seven Dialysis machines, said it was government’s agenda to ensure that hospitals in the province were equipped with such critical life-saving machines.

The Provincial Minister noted that the Dialysis machines will go a long way in reducing the number of deaths caused by renal failure once the hospital was equipped with the equipment.

“Government found it necessary that most hospital should have dialysis machines to ensure that all the people including the vulnerable have access to these facilities and this will go a long way in helping those with renal problems,” Mr. Musenge said.
And Mr. Musenge stated that mentally challenged people on the streets need to be cared for as the problem cannot be ignored.

He said Ndola Central Hospital was the only institution on the Copperbelt province that was currently looking after the mentally challenged people hence the construction of a psychiatric unit was a positive development.

He added that once the psychiatric unit was completed all mentally challenged people on the streets should be rounded up to receive care at the facility.

NCH has contracted Jeremy Enterprises to construct a modern ultra psychiatric Unit which will be a two- storey building consisting of an administration block, male and female wards with about 130 bed spaces.
The construction of the modern ultra psychiatric unit is expected to be completed in December this year.

Mr. Musenge has however warned the contractor to ensure that works are completed within the stipulated contract period.

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MOMBASA: James Karisa* is a teacher from Mazeras area of Mombasa County. The 48 year-old teacher is HIV positive and in February doctors diagnosed him with end-stage renal disease and he is forced visit Coast General Hospital for dialysis.

A doctors' report indicates one of his kidneys has failed and he needs a transplant but Karisa can counts himself one of the luckier ones because unlike 38 similar cases on the waiting list at the Coast General Hospital he is able to undergo dialysis treatment once a week at the facility.

According to Coast General Hospital Administrator, Dr Iqbal Khandwalla, in such cases the patients are supposed to undergo dialysis thrice a week but because of inadequate dialysis machines at the facility some of them are lucky to have two.

Dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is used primarily as an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure. Dr Khandwalla says that disease is commonly caused are diabetes and hypertension.

"We receive patients from as far as Makindu, Malindi and Lunga Lunga given this is a referral hospital. A part for other emergency cases, we have 28 patients in our list for dialysis every week and we could only do two dialysis per week for each instead of three," said Dr Khandwalla.

He said that many dialysis patients prefer the facility given that it is cheaper, charging Sh.3,000 per session, compared to the private hospital where they are charged an average of Sh.15, 000.

According to Dr Khandwalla the gap between people with kidney problem and the treatment they require in the country is still huge its cost was still high at private health institution.

On Saturday, the hospital however received a major boost after Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho, handed over four new four dialysis machine worth Sh.8 million donated by Sheikh Ahmed Al-Falasy from The United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Other than the machines the Sheikh Al-Falasy also committed to supply consumables ( dialysis supplies) for a year which will also cost Sh.9 million making the total donation Sh.17 million.

"We are going to receive four more new ( dialysis) machine from our development partner Sheik Ahmed Al-Falasy who has also given a commitment to give consumables (Dialysis Supplies) for a year amounting to Sh.9 million," said Joho.

He said that the equipment will increase the number of Dialysis Sessions for the patients to 400 per month.

Joho said he was negotiating with University of Washington to forge a partnership for the establishment an oncology centre at the Coast General adding that "will look for strategic partner to equip this hospital." He said that the county will in one year open the first oncology centre at the hospital.

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National Kidney Foundation appoints interim executive officer NephrologyNews.com Bruce Skyer will be stepping down from his position as CEO of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), on May 18, 2015, the organization announced. Kevin Longino (left), a member of the board of directors executive committee, has been named as interim ... and more »

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(HealthDay News) -- Despite the widespread availability of generic drugs, insulin has shown that generics are not an automatic phase in the life cycle of a drug, according to an article published in the March 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Jeremy A. Greene, M.D., Ph.D., and Kevin R. Riggs, M.D., M.P.H., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, discuss the reasons why insulin is unavailable in generic form and is associated with out-of-pocket costs for uninsured patients ranging from $120 to $400 per month.

The authors note that the history of insulin hasn't followed the standard chronology of pharmaceutical innovation, in which patent monopolies give way to generic competition. Rather, insulin has evolved through incremental improvements. Subsequent iterations represent innovations in terms of safety, efficacy, and convenience. 

The re-patenting technique known as "evergreening," which extends the life of a product after initial patent expiration, has been applied to insulin, with real advantages seen in cascading generations of insulin products.

"The history of insulin highlights the limits of generic competition as a public health framework," the authors write. "Nearly a century after its discovery, there is still no inexpensive supply of insulin for people living with diabetes in North America, and Americans are paying a steep price for the continued rejuvenation of this oldest of modern medicines."

Source

1. Jeremy A. Greene, M.D., Ph.D., and Kevin R. Riggs, M.D., M.P.H. New England Journal of Medicine, 2015; 372:1171-1175, March 19, 2015; doi: 10.1056/NEJMms1411398.

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