Ummu Tahir, the Chief Nursing Officer of the Dialysis Unit, National Hospital Abuja, NHA, says the hospital needs more dialysis machines to enable it to attend to the high number of patients seeking the procedure.
Mrs Tahir said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
Dialysis is the process of removing excess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no longer perform these functions naturally.
This is referred to as renal replacement therapy.
The chief nursing officer, who said that the hospital has four functional dialysis machines with enough staff, however, said more of such machines would make it easier for both patients and staff.
She said that the hospital should have between eight and 10 dialysis machines to cater for the number of patients, noting that “the hospital records high number of patients seeking for dialysis but the machines are not enough.”
Tahir gave the number of patients recorded in some months in 2019 as follows: April had 60, May with 68, June; 61, while in July , there were 57 patients and in August: 47, September had 43 and in October, 45 patients.
According to her, the cost of dialysis per session is N21,500, and some patients who are supposed to do it three times a week sometimes do it only once due to the lack of finance.
Mrs Tahir advised that people should cultivate the habit of regular check up to avoid emergency.
She also advised that people should drink enough water and avoid too much salt in foods to avoid kidney infection.
According to her, some Nigerians have the habit of self-medication, and some drugs, when not properly used, can cause kidney disease.
Tahir attributed other causes of kidney infection to chemicals found in refined and canned foods.
She advised that people should eat healthy foods, and add more fruits and vegetables in their diet.
NAN
