Victoria Hospital-Dialysis centre upgrade plans under study |19 May 2005

Principal secretary Maurice Loustau-Lalanne who met with visiting members of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) of Singapore last week, said their medical proposals are interesting, but certain aspects like the capital investment still need to be further negotiated, so that it fits within the government's budget.

If all goes well, July will see the start of cooperation that will bring improvement in the equipment and services at the centre to benefit the 7,000 patients diagnosed with kidney problems in the country, PS Loustau-Lalanne said.

The cooperation, he said, will cover a diabetic prevention programme that NKF is planning to start with the Diabetic Society of Seychelles.

Following a visit to the dialysis facility at the hospital, Mr Alwyn Lim, the vice-chairman of NKF told Seychelles Nation that their plan is to equip Victoria Hospital with a new 20-machine dialysis centre with proper accessories which "will help save Seychelles R3 million per year." For the moment the centre has only eight dialysis machines.

Other members of the delegation, included nephrologist Dr K.S. Prabhakar, the centre's manager Lee Pui Cheng and treasurer Loo Say San.

By adopting the strategies and technologies developed by NKF, Dr Prabhakar explained the hospital can maximise the use of its dialyser, an artificial kidney used for dialysis.

NKF, he said, has developed a special machine to clean, disinfect and store the dialyser for repeated use. As a result it can be used 15 times on the same patient, whereas here it is used once and then discarded, he explained.

He also said NKF has developed technology which can efficiently and more cost-effectively provide the dialysate, a special substance used in dialysis, for less that one euro, for every dialysis performed.  The conventional machine normally costs around 20 euros per dialysis.

"Savings that can be made with dialyser reprocessing and with the use of the bicarbonate cartridge as being done in Singapore are phenomenal," he said, adding that by using these technologies some R3 million can be saved on 50 patients annually.

Noting that prevention is the driving force of the organisation's dialysis programme in Singapore, Dr Prabhakar said NKF can also assist the Diabetic Society with improving the prevention campaign in the country to sensitise people on diabetes which, if left unchecked, can lead to kidney failures.

There are to date 37 patients on dialysis treatment at the Victoria Hospital.

Established in 1969, NKF is the largest charitable organisation in Singapore and leading health institution for dialysis.  It also offers other services such as organ donation advocacy and renal medicine research and education. 

NKF has over the years pioneered the setting up of dialysis centres and transfer of required technologies in a number of developing countries including India, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and recently, Samoa, where in mid-March it opened a key dialysis facility with 12 machines and 10 stations. It has set up 21 dialysis centres in Singapore.

In addition to sharing its expertise with Seychelles, NKF can also assist with training and through its contacts get better deals with companies developing new technologies.