Lockdown affects kidney patients need for regular dialysis

At a time when the country is observing lockdown, extended for second time, against a global pandemic of coronavirus, kidney patients in Tanahun district have found no easy means of transport to reach health facilities to continue with dialysis.

Kidney patients who are in dire need of undergoing regular dialysis have been adversely affected by lockdown as they are either forced to reserve an ambulance to visit hospital or seek help from container carrying goods or relatives or stay home risking own health when means of public transport and other accessible means of transport are not available at the moments, it is said.

Dev Bahadur Gurung of Byas municipality-6, Sisaghat said before lockdown he spent Rs 30-50 as transport fare to visit the Damauli Hospital-based Shatrudhan Manju Dialysis Center but in the wake of lockdown he had been paying Rs 1,000-1,500 each time for the use of ambulance service.

He owns a motorcycle but could not ride as it has been under the police control for ‘violating lockdown’. He needs to undergo dialysis twice a week.

Anisha Subedi of Belchautara of Shuklagandaki municipality-5 said nowadays she was seeking help from containers to reach the dialysis center. However, she was getting support from security people for this.

”Lockdown has caused inconvenience to people like me who need regular dialysis.” Dilsobha Rana of Myagde rural municipality-1 shared she had to beg for relative’s help to visit the center.

”My relative has been dropping me to the center since lockdown and when police intervenes with us, I genuinely put my problem before them.”

As said by center’s in-charge Shailesh Pandit, though lockdown was not easy for us specially those requiring regular treatment, they were managing to visit the center in one way or another.

The center was established on 19 November 2015. So far, it has been providing regular dialysis facility to 210 kidney patients whose number makes up 72 percent of total kidney patients visiting the hospital.