Government open to increasing dialysis grant

The government is open to increasing the annual dialysis grant currently being offered to patients, in an effort to ensure enhanced care.

This is according to General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who was at the time responding to a question posed by a reporter during his weekly press briefing at Freedom House on Thursday.

Currently, the government offers an annual dialysis grant of $600,000. Dr Jagdeo was questioned on whether the government would consider making the treatment free instead, since the existing sum may be insufficient for some patients.

“We’ve gone from zero to $600,000. So people get a grant. They were getting zero and they’re now getting a grant of $600,000. We can look to increase that grant, but also, we should not undertake, publicly, every one. I’m sure, as the hospitals improve, we’ll be able to improve the facilities across the country, to do dialysis,” he responded.

Dr Jagdeo added that the government is currently working on strengthening the management of hospitals to ensure greater accountability, as well as training and recruiting new personnel.

“We’re training about 5,000 healthcare professionals in the next term, and recruiting from abroad. Then we’ll focus on preventative medicine more. We’ll collaborate with the private sector on tertiary care. We’ll ensure the availability of drugs and other medical supplies at the hospital. And only then can we start looking at improving or expanding the level of services, because we have to get the personnel,” he noted.

“Right now, if you see what’s happening at Diamond, the hospital here, tomorrow, another one will be open. Then, immediately thereafter, four others across the country. So that’s the quality of facilities we have in significant parts of the country. We’re now looking at staffing, which is a big issue because the level of services is going up. So we have to ensure that we pace ourselves. In the next term, we are going to complete these hospitals, all twelve of them. Six would have been open already. We will then upgrade all of the remaining hospitals,” he added.

He continued that a lot more personnel is needed and the government is looking at recruiting from abroad.

“Several people are coming in over the next two months from Cuba, etcetera, until we can train up our people. Because the level of services in these hospitals will grow. So we don’t want to take on too much more now. It’s better to give people some money where they can go to different places than to take on new levels of services until we get the personnel,“ Dr Jagdeo reemphasised.

He added that the government has mapped out a plan for the next five years on what will occur in areas of health, including dialysis and other types of services such as tertiary care.