Absence of nephrologist at GMC Baramulla dialysis center hits patient care

Baramulla, Nov 26: The dialysis center at Government Medical College (GMC) Baramulla, the sole facility catering to renal patients across north Kashmir, faces the lack of a nephrologist amid an overwhelming patient load.

On Monday the Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, Minga Sherpa, during a visit to the hospital announced more facilities for the growing number of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients with the collaboration of NHPC's CSR initiative. However, most of the patients here believe that in the absence of a nephrologist, the facilities had minimal impact on the welfare of the patients.

"Although, with the new initiative, the dialysis centre can expand its services to accomodate more patients, however, this won't yield desired result, if a nephrologist is not appointed at the GMC," said Muhammad ishfaq, whose relative is a CKD patient.

Several patients here say that in the absence of a nephrologist, hundreds of CKD patients struggle to access specialised care, forcing many to travel to Srinagar for consultations and essential surgical procedures like arteriovenous fistulas or grafts.

The eight-bed dialysis center, including a dedicated bed for Hepatitis B and C patients, runs non-stop at the dialysis centre of GMC Baramulla with two sessions daily.

Hospital records reveal that 16 patients undergo dialysis each day, with the center managing over 3,000 Outpatient Department (OPD) visits daily. Of these, at least 50-60 patients require nephrology consultations, which are currently managed by general medicine doctors.

Nahida Akhtar, a resident of north Kashmir, while sharing her plight, said that her father, a renal failure patient, requires dialysis twice weekly. Despite the facility at GMC Baramulla, they had to frequently visit Srinagar for nephrology consultations.

"It is painful to visit Srinagar hospitals from a remote village of north Kashmir. Had there been a nephrologist available, their entire treatment will be done at the GMC Baramulla itself which could be a big relief for them," said Nahida.

With patients from Baramulla, Uri, Bandipora, and Kupwara districts relying on GMC facilities, the limited capacity and lack of specialised care have led to overcrowding here.

Many patients reportedly return without availing of dialysis due to insufficient beds. "Many CKD patients had to visit for the surgical procedure for Arteriovenous fistula (AV fistula), or Arteriovenous graft (AV graft) procedure to Srinagar hospitals. Most of the time the CVTS surgeon here remains busy and in that case they had to get the procedure done at the specialised centre at Srinagar," said one of the attendants of a CKD patient.

Although, Baramulla district administration had assured of enhanced facilities at the centre, however, the core issue of appointment of a nephrologist remains still unaddressed.