The five dialysis centres in private hospitals in Tumakuru district have been closed since Monday causing inconvenience to patients suffering from chronic kidney diseases or kidney failure. Many families had no option but to travel to Bengaluru for help. It was only on Thursday evening, after the intervention of officials that the centres began offering treatment.
Deputy Commissioner K.P. Mohan Raj confirmed that dialysis units in private hospitals in Tumakuru were opened after his intervention. He said government nephrologists would look after patients undergoing dialysis in these centres. Many doctors found themselves caught between their duty to patients and their support for the strike. At a dialysis centre in a well-known hospital, an elderly man called up his doctor on his cellphone and took him to task. The nephrologist convinced him to travel to Bengaluru for treatment. He told The Hindu , “I arranged a vehicle and sent all my dialysis patients to a private hospital in Bengaluru which is operating its dialysis clinic. My patients were accompanied by a technician. I take care of my patients and have a responsibility to all of them,” the nephrologist said.
More than 150 private hospitals in the district, including 50 in Tumakuru city, have been closed from Monday. Outpatient departments, diagnostic centres, and clinics remained closed.
It was only by Thursday evening that private dialysis centres started operating. “We spoke with members of the district unit of the IMA and decided to open the dialysis centres,” said Suresh Babu, district president of the IMA, and added that the centres would remain shut on Saturday if the strike was not called off.
