Social organisation offers free dialysis, lodging services at Jawaddi health centre

A free dialysis facility is being run at the Urban Community Health Centre (UCHC), Jawaddi, and nearly 70 patients avail themselves of the service every day here. Under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, Helpful Welfare Society, an NGO, provides the facility of free dialysis to patients, especially those coming from out of the city. Adding to this initiative, the NGO has now made arrangements for the boarding and lodging of the patients’ attendants.

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“We have made arrangements at Nishkam Sewa Ashram on Pakhowal Road for free boarding and lodging, and it is also not too far off from the UCHC and will be convenient for patients and attendants as well,” said Deepak Garg, president of the NGO. Garg added that there were 24 beds at the hospital and three shifts of dialysis were being run. “Daily, 72 dialysis are being carried out, and keeping in view the huge rush, we plan to include 11 more dialysis machines,” he said.

“A person who has to get dialysis needs to be regular, and it can be a lifelong procedure, too. The patient is generally accompanied by another person, and the long wait becomes difficult for the family member,” said Garg.

The NGO has been helping patients financially for four years, and last year they moved a step further and started providing services at the hospital.

A patient from Pakhowal Road is currently getting dialysis done from the Jawaddi Centre and is happy with the free services being provided by the NGO.

Another patient, who comes from Barnala, was happy with the boarding and lodging facility being provided to the persons coming along. “The NGO is doing such noble work. They are not only taking care of the expenses of the dialysis but also taking care of attendants,” he said.

People who have kidney failure or end-stage renal disease need dialysis. The average cost of dialysis treatment ranges from Rs 4,000 to Rs 15,000.

Ludhiana Civil Hospital is also providing free services to patients, but keeping in view the population of the district, it was proving inadequate as only a three-bed facility is available here. On average, 130-150 dialysis procedures are being done in a month at the Civil Hospital.