Dialysis centres beef up to meet demand

Ageing population and rise in diabetes cases leading to more kidney failures
By Melissa Pang, The Straits Times, 1 Apr 2013

DIALYSIS centres in Singapore are scaling up to cope with a surge in kidney failure cases as the population ages and diabetes becomes more common.

At least three organisations that offer this service are expanding their facilities, either by reconfiguring existing space or acquiring new sites.

The development follows an 87 per cent leap in the number of patients on dialysis between 1999 and the end of 2010.

Doctors blame an ageing population and rising numbers of cases of diabetes, which often leads to kidney problems.

To cope with the increased demand, the National University Hospital (NUH) officially opened a new renal centre for outpatients last month. The facility, which deals with more serious cases, now has eight dialysis stations, up from two before.

Its inpatient dialysis centre has also expanded from eight to 14 stations. Last year, it provided 9,000 sessions of dialysis - in which a machine replaces the natural functions of the kidney - up from 4,000 in 2003.

At Changi General Hospital, plans are in place to expand the inpatient dialysis centre from five stations to 11 by year end.

Meanwhile, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has built six new centres in the last five years, which can accommodate 510 patients. But there is a limit to the number of facilities it can construct. Four new planned centres will cost the non-profit organisation $8 million, and add $6 million to $8 million a year to operating expenses.

Acquiring a new site has also become more challenging, said NKF chairman Koh Poh Tiong. For one thing, there is the problem of the Nimby (not in my backyard) syndrome and increased competition for space. On top of this, the layout of some new Housing Board void decks is unsuitable for building dialysis centres, and a shortage of renal doctors and nurses also persists.

Mr Koh said the NKF has asked the Health Ministry to consider allocating space for it to set up new centres at new hospitals and polyclinics. He added that the organisation is looking at how to "optimise" existing space. For example, it added four dialysis stations at its centre in Bedok by reducing space in areas such as the pantry.

Singapore had 4,593 patients on dialysis at the end of 2010, the latest national figures show. Meanwhile, 11.3 per cent of adults had diabetes, up from 8.2 per cent in 2004.

Professor A. Vathsala, the head of NUH's division of nephrology, pointed out the link between the conditions, saying 50 per cent of diabetes sufferers will also have some form of kidney disease.

Mr Mok Heng Teck, who has been undergoing dialysis for almost 30 years, said new centres would mean more options for patients. "As new housing estates come up, such as in Sengkang and Punggol, there may be more competition for the services at the existing dialysis centres," said the 59-year-old law firm secretary.


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