By SOLA OGUNDIPE & CHIOMA OBINNA

Patients requiring dialysis and other comprehensive healthcare services for management of Chronic Kidney Disease and other numerous kidney ailments, can now access such services at the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, Lagos,

following the opening of a state-of-the-art dialysis centre there last week.

In recent times, despite the growing number of kidney cases in the country, a relatively few health centres, mostly privately owned, offer such services, and often at exhorbitant cost .

But the FMC dialysis centre which consists two floors is equipped with four ultramodern dialysis chairs, an MDG-SCD unit and is manned by special administrative officers, is expected to take some of the pressure of demand for dialysis, from previously existing centres in the state.

Confirming this at the commissioning of the FMC dialysis centre in Lagos last week, Medical Director and CEO of the hospital, Dr. Yewande Jinadu observed that the new dialysis centre was a product of necessity occasioned by the tremenduous increase in patients and inadequacy of facilities for their intensive care needs.

She stressed that the new facility is specially designed to cater for the tremendous increase in patients and inadequacy of facilities for their intensive care needs. Jinadu further disclosed that approval has been given for Critical Care Management Company (CCMC) to be the technical partner for the management of the dialysis centre.

She expressed hope that the CCMC would improve services to patients, meet their needs and improve accessibility for dialysis treatment in Lagos and its environs.Speaking, the Director of CCMC, Dr. Ade Tinubu who noted that majority of the people who need dialysis have either acute or chronic failure of kidneys  unless they receive a kidney transplant, blamed the increasing incidences to changes on lifestyles, increasing incidences of diabetes and hypertension.

The new dialysis centre which opens Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 5.00pm daily. “ It will be outfitted with all the equipment required to run a first class dialysis unit and staffed by fully qualified personnel”. Chairman, Board of Management of the hospital, Otunba S.A. Oladunni, said the dialyis centre project was achieved from the very slim capital budget as well as internally generated funds to provide additional facilities and add value to the hospital.

He called upon the Minister of Health to allocate more funds to to the centre, to enable the building to be raised to the desired three floors in order to create more facilities and office space in consideration of the current space constraints.