Hemodialysis pressure

The age of people with chronic kidney disease is getting younger. In the photo: More than 8 years ago, Mr. D.BH, 33 years old, in Hai Duong city, had to undergo dialysis.

The increasing demand for dialysis from patients while the lack of machinery makes the work of medical staff very stressful and difficult.

Overload

The overload situation at the Department of Nephrology - Artificial Kidney of Hai Duong General Hospital has been going on for many years now as the number of patients has increased while the machines are limited. The whole department currently has only 40 machines while it has to perform periodic (fixed) dialysis for nearly 210 patients. The hospital beds in the department are almost always full. However, this department always has to leave about 10-15 machines to receive emergency patients in critical situations... Not to mention that patients on periodic dialysis with other chronic diseases who have to be treated as inpatients can still have to have dialysis at any time. "There have been a number of times when emergency patients came in but the department ran out of machines. In that situation, saving the lives of critically ill people is the number one priority, so we have to mobilize stable periodic dialysis patients to temporarily give up their seats to serve the emergency work", said Dr. Nguyen Thi Huong, Head of the Department of Nephrology - Artificial Kidney of the Provincial General Hospital.

Lack of machines and increasing number of patients force the staff of the above department to work 3 shifts/day. On many days, there are many emergency patients or patients transferred from higher levels, and from lower levels, so they have to work 4 shifts. The first dialysis shift of the day will start at 6:45 am, but in reality, they have to arrive at 5 am to prepare. The third shift ends at 7:30 pm, but the medical staff has to work until 9 pm to disinfect the machine, process the filters, collect medical waste, clean the room, etc. The dialysis machine operates almost continuously, with little time to rest, so it often malfunctions and breaks down.

With the current situation, the Department of Nephrology - Artificial Kidney still basically ensures patient care activities. However, medical staff have to work very hard, with almost no days off, including holidays and Tet.
In Hai Duong, in addition to the Provincial General Hospital, there is also Military Hospital 7 and a number of district-level medical centers such as Gia Loc, Ninh Giang, Kinh Mon town and Hai Duong city that have artificial kidney departments or units. However, due to the increasing number of patients, the current equipment in most of these units cannot meet the demand even though they operate 3-4 shifts/day. Many patients have had to be transferred to higher levels or to neighboring provinces for dialysis.

Investing in more machinery for medical facilities that have artificial kidney departments or units is urgent. In addition, it is also necessary to develop this unit at district-level medical centers located far from the provincial center to share the pressure with the above units.

The large number of patients makes the work of the staff of the Department of Nephrology - Artificial Kidney of the Provincial General Hospital very stressful and difficult.

Attention to disease prevention

Doctors say that patients with chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis are increasing and tend to be younger. It is not uncommon for people aged 16-20 to have this disease. People with diabetes, glomerulonephritis, renal vascular, glomerular, renal tubular diseases... are at high risk of chronic kidney disease. Worryingly, most patients are already in stage 5 (end stage) when they are diagnosed with this disease and are forced to undergo dialysis to maintain life.

Patients who have to undergo periodic dialysis and also have other chronic diseases not only lose their ability to work but also become a burden to their families. Ms. Đ.TNL (36 years old, from Binh Giang) had to undergo dialysis 8 years ago and sadly said: “Since then, I have not been able to do anything. All the housework, from earning money to taking care of the children, has been shouldered by my husband alone. The family's already tight finances have become even more difficult. If I had seen someone with symptoms that day, I would have gone to the doctor right away and not bought medicine for a long time, then I would not have had to live in this situation.”

Dr. Nguyen Thi Huong recommends that in order to proactively prevent diseases in general and chronic kidney disease in particular, people need to have regular health check-ups. Early detection will help diagnose and treat the disease better, limiting possible unfortunate events. Those who often feel tired, dizzy, have facial swelling, etc. may have chronic kidney disease and should go to a medical facility for examination immediately.

DAWN