• Additional machines’, equipment shortages affect Kuliyapitiya, Galgamuwa: Dayasiri slams Health Min. tenders

The Kuliyapitiya Base Hospital and the Galgamuwa Base Hospital are currently facing a malfunctioning of the dialysis machines and a shortage of its equipment, and therefore, putting patients with kidney failure in danger. 

Dialysis machines are artificial kidneys that perform most, but not all, kidney functions for patients who suffer from permanent or temporary renal failure. The machines use haemodialysis to cleanse the blood and balance its constituents.

Accordingly, when contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (5), an official of the Kuliyapitiya Base Hospital said that there is a shortage of such equipment and the malfunctioning of such machines. Thus, due to this issue, patients with kidney failure are facing many problems.

Opposition Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara claimed that many patients in certain hospitals in the island, including the Galgamuwa Base Hospital and the Kuliyapitiya Base Hospital, were suffering due to the malfunctioning of the dialysis machines. Speaking in the Parliament yesterday, Jayasekara emphasised that this crisis has arisen due to a problem in the administration of the Ministry of Health, where although tenders had been called for the repair of dialysis machines, due to problems in those tenders, it has not been possible to get the necessary equipment for the relevant machines for months. “The Kuliyapitiya and Galgamuwa Base Hospitals are facing issues due to the malfunctioning of the dialysis machines, and therefore, patients suffering from kidney failure are suffering further. About Rs. 200 billion is allocated to the Ministry from the budget annually, but, patients with kidney disease are told to bring equipment to the hospital with them, when people don’t have the money to be able to do so,” Jayasekara claimed. Accordingly, speaking further, he urged the Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella to find out about this matter and to resolve this issue.

Meanwhile, Rambukwella said in the Parliament that there is truth to what Jayasekara has highlighted. The Minister also mentioned that orders have even been received from court in this regard and that the issue will be resolved within the course of yesterday or today (6).