Facebook fight for dialysis patients

After Goregaon dialysis centre faces closure, seventy odd patients start Facebook group to protest; say other centres are too expensive

Facebook fight for dialysis patients

After Goregaon dialysis centre faces closure, seventy odd patients start Facebook group to protest; say other centres are too expensive

IT'S not just kidney failure that seventy-odd patients of Jeevanjyot and Gunvantiben Jain Charitable (JGJC) trust dialysis center at Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon West, are battling. The lot is fighting another battle to save the center from shutting down after the BMC had refused to extended the lease.

"The JGJC trust officials told Sunday Mid day that the centre may shut and we should start looking for someplace else. All of us are emotionally attached to this center, and the remarkable quality of care and hygiene. We decided to gather support via the Internet, and by sending mails to people," says, Archana Kothari, a housewife who was diagnosed with kidney failure seven years ago.

In a bid to save the centre, patients have started a campaign on Facebook, and shot off a letter to the Municipal Commissioner, requesting him to keep the 'centre functional'.

Another patient, 36 year-old Ananth Dhage, who has been undergoing dialysis at the centre for two and a half years, says, "We wanted to reach out to the maximum number of supporters, and Facebook looked like the right option. I have been on dialysis for six years, and it the only way I can stay alive. Most other centers are too costly, and affordable ones have a long waiting list."

The patients visit the centre three times a week for a session of dialysis, which costs around Rs 450.
"We were denied the renewal of the lease because the BMC wanted the centre to abide by a new set of terms.
We have been asked to show a fixed deposit in lakhs, and reduce the dialysis charges to Rs 350, which is not practically possible. Even if we had agreed, we would have survived for more than four months," said an official from the trust, requesting anonymity.

The trust has sent letters to the BMC, asking it to reconsider their tough norms and agree to negotiate a new set of terms to benefit patients attached to the centre.

Even after repeated attempts, Municipal Commissioner Subodh Kumar and Additional Municipal Commissioner (health) Manish Mhaiskar, remained unavailable for comment.