Hyderabad: A dialysis centre with five machines was inaugurated at Toopran Government Hospital on Thursday by health minister C. Damodar Rajanarsimha. This facility will ease the burden on existing centres and provide local treatment for patients who previously had to travel to Hyderabad or other districts.The unit is part of the state’s expanding dialysis network, now comprising 94 centres, with 16 added in the past year. Government data show that 13,732 patients depend on these services, with state-run centres conducting around 91,419 dialysis sessions per month. With rising kidney disease cases, several government dialysis centres are operating five shifts a day, including night sessions, to meet demand. To manage patient load, 119 additional beds have been introduced in 27 existing centres. To improve monitoring and reduce wait times, the government has rolled out real-time telemonitoring across all dialysis units, enabling remote diagnostics and consultations. A face recognition system (FRS) has replaced Aadhaar-based authentication for patient registration, which had previously caused delays. In addition to dialysis services, the Toopran hospital will soon have a trauma care unit and CT scan facility to handle accident cases and medical emergencies. Similar trauma centres are planned across the state. The government has also announced seven new vascular surgery centres with a Rs 33-crore investment to assist dialysis patients needing minor surgical procedures. Cancer screening is another priority, with mobile screening vehicles now deployed and regional cancer centres planned in the former district headquarters. The state’s public dialysis programme, launched in 2009 under a PPP model and expanded in 2017 into a hub-and-spoke system, has significantly improved access. However, staff shortages and maintenance issues persist, with rising patient numbers straining available resources. Doctors highlight uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension as key contributors to kidney failure, emphasising the need for stronger preventive healthcare measures.
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