AMSA Renal care donates special garment to catheter patients |11 March 2016
All catheter patients have received a special garment aimed at reducing the chances of infection from water while bathing.
‘The Shower Shirt’, as the garment is called, is a post-surgical, water resistant garment designed to protect surgical drains and catheters from water while showering. It reduces the risk of infection from water-borne bacteria.
The Shower Shirt, which is an innovative and patented product from the USA, has been distributed for free to the patients courtesy of AMSA Renal Care, a specialised centre with a strong focus on haemodialysis.
In addition AMSA Renal Care has also distributed a booklet to all dialysis patients entitled ‘Myths & facts and diet in kidney disease’ to educate them and to improve their quality of life.
Special ID cards with all details about their condition have been also distributed to the patients to carry in case of any emergencies.
This ID card can help patients with critical information on-hand in case of an emergency. It is not a substitute for medical records but provides basic information to help the patients and dialysis providers locate information in case of an emergency.
All the products were distributed by the director of the Seychelles Hospital Loren Reginald during a ceremony yesterday at the Seychelles Hospital’s Haemodialysis Centre.
The event, which had been organised to mark World Kidney Day celebrated yesterday, was attended by consultant nephrologist at AMSA Renal Care Dr Mahesh Kumar, nurse manager at AMSA Renal Care Elsia Sinon, among other guests.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Reginald noted that eight new cases of people with kidney diseases have been discovered this year.
“This is a very high number of cases for this year alone. Normally we have at least 15 patients that are diagnosed each year with kidney diseases, and we are in March with already eight cases,” he said.
He added that during the two days of free kidney screening that AMSA Renal Care did this week at the Bel Eau primary school, they discovered that some children had some abnormality in their urine test.
“Those children will be evaluated and treated. It is important to follow up with those kids so that in the future they can have a better and normal life,” he added.
He pointed out that parents should also take time to educate their children on better ways to live a healthier lifestyle.
“The Ministry of Health is doing so much to educate the young and the adults on the need to lead a healthier life, but parents and schools should be more aware of the importance of a good diet for children to prevent kidney diseases from a very young age,” he said.
Dr Kumar also announced that all 135 dialysis patients aged 60 and above will be vaccinated with a new vaccine called Pneumococcal vaccines to prevent pneumonia.
All patients will receive their first dose today, and in eight weeks they will get another one.
Dr Kumar also pointed out that around 32 to 40 percent of the children who were screened for kidney disease on Tuesday and Wednesday have abnormalities in their urine.
“That number is very high. Obviously we need to confirm it by doing a laboratory test, and follow it up, give them an appointment and if anything is abnormal we will start treatment,” Dr Kumar stated.
In a previous article we inadvertently stated that AMSA Renal Care have done over 5,000 dialysis worldwide, the correct figure is 50,000.
