A dialysis centre for Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) beneficiaries was opened at the Sadiq Nagar CGHS wellness centre here on Thursday.

Health minister Ghulam Nabi azad inaugurated the first of its kind haemodialysis centre which is based on a public-private-partnership (PPP) model.

This standalone unit will have eight dialysis machines and if fully utilised, it can treat 6,510 per year or 21 patients each day, said CGHS additional director south zone Dr S N Mishra.

“More than 1.5 lakh cases of chronic kidney diseases are seen here every year by CGHS. The patients can either opt for kidney transplant or can continue dialysis. For kidney transplant, it is difficult to find donors and it is very expensive,” said Mishra.

The CGHS beneficiaries are referred to the empanelled hospitals for dialysis where they had a long waiting as hospitals have limited facilities. The patients got dialysis date as per hospitals’ requirement, added Mishra.

The facility at Sadiq Nagar CGHS wellness centre will reduce the burden off the empanelled hospitals and the patients will get timely treatment. This pilot project will operate for two years and its progress will be assessed before this facility is expanded to the districts under the national program for control of diabetes.

In Delhi around 40 to 50 patients require dialysis per day. The demand for dialysis is likely to go up as diseases like diabetes and hypertension which lead to chronic kidney disease and renal failure are on a rise.

This facility is being started in collaboration with Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited. The centre will have a set of four nephrologists who will be available in morning and evening shifts. It will also have one residence medical officer, from 7 am to 8.30 pm, specially trained for the purpose. Two technitians and one staff nurse will also be present at the centre.

Health secretary K Sujatha Rao, Director General Health Services Dr R K Shrivastava and Chairman Apollo group Pratap Chander Reddy were also present on the inauguration.