Kidney patients' movement has been going on in Chattogram Medical College (CMC) Hospital for the past few days. They took to the streets to protest against the increase in fees at the Sandor Dialysis Center set up under Public-Private Partnership (PPP). After the first day of the movement of the patients, the CMC authorities took the initiative to install 10 new dialysis machines to increase the dialysis services. If these machines are installed, kidney patients will get dialysis service at Tk 416. The hospital authorities said that 10 new machines will arrive.
According to CMC sources, 4 machines are currently running in the kidney ward of the hospital for dialysis services. There are also three machines in the hospital's COVID zone (corona unit). CMC Hospital will serve kidney patients through a total of 17 machines including ten new machines. New machines from Dhaka will be installed in CMC Nephrology Ward.
It is known that a patient will have to pay Tk 20,000 for six months when CMC officially starts dialysis services. This dialysis service will be provided at Tk 416 for two sessions per week. However, after the machine is commissioned, a total of 51 patients can be dialyzed by 17 people in three shifts. And 120 patients will get dialysis service every week.
CMC Hospital’s Director Brigadier General Dr. Shamim Ahsan said, "We will have 10 dialysis machines. The installation of these machines will begin. Within a few days, we will be able to provide dialysis services to the patients at our own capacity. Poor patients will get this service through 17 machines.
This government fee for dialysis is slightly less than Sandor. We have already identified poor patients. The service will be given to them in the beginning. They will get this service through prescribed government fee. Our patients are constantly increasing. Therefore, I will keep in consideration that those who are poor patients are not deprived of services.
Private dialysis fee at Sandor Dialysis Center was Tk 2,790 per session. Poor and indigent patients used to get service at 510 taka per session in government subsidized facilities. Freedom fighters and poor patients used to get free dialysis services. Although the number of free sessions was very less. Under the PPP, the fee increases at the rate of 5 percent every year as per the agreement between the government and Sandor. After the fee increase, the fee per session has increased to Tk 535 in the government and Tk 2930 in the private sector. Since January 7, kidney patients and their relatives protested against the increase in fees.
Last Tuesday, patients and their relatives started a protest by blocking the road in front of the main gate of the hospital to protest the increase in fees. At one stage, there was an argument and clash with the police, and some people were injured.
In this incident, the police arrested a relative of the patient named Tawhid Hossain (30) on the charge of assaulting the police. Legal action is being taken against him for obstructing police work.
Sandor Medicaids Private Ltd has set up two kidney dialysis centers in Dhaka's National Kidney Institute and CMC Hospital. 31 machines provide dialysis services in CMC Hospital.
According to the contract, 29 thousand sessions are to be provided to kidney patients, but Sandor authority provides 70 thousand sessions. Sandor provided 33,000 more sessions to Dhaka's National Kidney Institute and 37,000 sessions to CMC last year.
Due to the additional session dues, Sandor authorities have created trouble in the health department. Because of this, the government owes about 20 crore taka to Sandor.