A Consultant Nephrologists, and Clinical Director, St Nicholas Hospital, Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, has raised alarm over the running of dialysis units in the country by unskilled personnel.

 

Bamgboye who is also President, Nigerian Association of Nephrology, NAN, told Good Health Weekly, that "an ideal dialysis unit should have an appropriately trained nephrology doctor, a nephrology nurse, a dialysis technician and good water supply amongst others. But most of the centres have none of these.

 

"Dialysis in some extent looks like a simple procedure but to some extent it is technical and that is why it requires appropriately trained people to ensure safety of patients," he asserted.

 

"Some people do not require dialysis but some of the units are carrying out dialysis just for the money. There are units that will go ahead and dialyze a patient they know could not withstand the process and the outcome is usually negative. Some centres are using inappropriate consumables at inappropriate time.

 

"You don't put a patient that is anaemic or whose blood pressure is not appropriately high on dialysis but some centres are doing it today. There are things in the process of training, the dialysis nurse and doctors or technicians acquire. It is important that any unit be staffed by skilled individuals and this is why government must come in," Bamgboye alleged.

 

He disclosed that NAN is working on guidelines for dialysis units,for onward subsmission to state governments.

 

In his lecture during a kidney screening exercise organised by St Nicholas Hospital for over 500 people as part of activities to mark the World Kidney Day, Bamgboye said if CKD is detected early and treated it would dramatically reduce the growing burden of deaths and disability from chronic renal and cardiovascular disease worldwide.

 

He said the two types - acute and chronic kidney failure are quite common conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic glomerulonephritis, analgesic nephropathy, bleaching creams and soaps containing heavy metals, sickle cell amongst others are common among Nigerians.

 

Decrying shortage of functional dialysis units in the country, Bamgboye called on the three tiers of government to help increase access to treatment by establishing more treatment and dialysis centres.

 

BY CHIOMA OBINNA,

NAN