Former president APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday called upon the medical fraternity to “educate the people on preventing kidney ailments, as their cure, dialysis or transplant, is a costly affair”.
Kalam was inaugurating a mobile dialysis facility set up by Manipal Hospital, Bangalore on Thursday evening.He addressed a huge gathering of medical and para-medical staff and administered them an oath.
About two lakh people fall prey to kidney ailments annually in India and 10% of them die due to inaccessibility of medical assistance, studies have revealed.
“The patient is the most important person in the hospital, ensure that when he comes inside, all the medical and para medical staff greet him with a smile; this reassures the patient,” said Kalam.
Kalam suggested that the Manipal Hospital authoritiesextend their new facility to rural areas. “The 108 mobile ambulance concept under the Arogya Kavacha scheme is a huge success in Karnataka, he said.
Pointing out that most people were unaware and uneducated about kidney diseases, Kalam said there was dire need for education. “Manipal Hospital has such big premises, it can open a small department where nurses and paramedical staff can educate family members of kidney patients. Both dialysis and transplant are costly affairs,” the former president said.
The mobile medical facility of Manipal Hospital consists of a medical van equipped with dialysis machinery and will have a small team of medical staff aboard. It will provide dialysis treatment at the patient’s doorstep. The service comes at a price of Rs2,500.
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