Three undergoing dialysis die due to a power cut in Puducherry hospital

Three poor patients undergoing dialysis died due to a power cut at the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital.

In a tragic incident, three poor patients undergoing dialysis died due to a power cut at the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Post Graduate Institute in Puducherry on Thursday, a senior official said. "Two women, aged 55 and 75, and a man unfortunately died when they were undergoing dialysis at the hospital due to power cut. The hospital provides free dialysis treatment to poor patients," K.V. Raman, Director in the Health Department, told IANS over phone. According to Raman, a committee has been formed to look into the issue on how the power supply was interrupted for seven minutes. He said the generator power kicked in seven minutes after the power from the grid got cut. "Normally, the generator power would kick in within a minute.Further, the dialysis machines would work for around 20 minutes even if the power supply gets interrupted. But here the machines did not work when the power supply got interrupted," Raman said. He said the dialysis equipment is not old as the scheme to provide free dialysis service to the poor was launched only around one-and-a-half years back. Raman was, however, not sure about the make of the dialysis machines. He said the government has announced a solatium of Rs 500,000 each to the families of the dead.

Dialysis is a form of treatment that is advised for patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease. Usually when a patient has chronic kidney disease the doctor classifies it into stages based on the percentage of kidney function the patient has. This is calculated using certain formulae based on the patient s serum creatinine levels. Generally when a person s kidney function is less than 10 to 15 percent of what it should be, dialysis is prescribed. This is the time the patient suffers from symptoms such as fatigue, lack of concentration, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, itching of the skin, restlessness of the legs, muscle aches and cramps etc, due to the build-up of waste products in the bloodstream (also called uraemia). Read could a nanofibre mesh soon replace kidney dialysis?(Read: 6 facts about dialysis that you should know)

Source: IANS

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