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Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital is set to offer dialysis services to kidney patients in the province by the end of this year. Dialysis equipment is being installed at the hospital, which handles all referral cases from across the province. Medical superintendent Dr Collett Mawire said the renal unit was set to be opened by end of year.

“This is good news to all patients that require renal dialysis. Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital is finalising the installation of renal dialysis equipment. We are planning to commission the renal department before the end of the year. This will ensure dialysis services are provided closer home at affordable costs,” said Dr Mawire. People suffering from various kidney challenges, including kidney failure, have to travel to Harare for their sessions which allow them to live productive lives.

The dialysis machine substitutes the function of the kidneys, which help in filtering extra salt, fluids in the body and waste. It cleans the blood, which is then pumped back into circulation for normal functioning. There are two types of dialysis machines, including hemodialysis, which cleans the blood outside the body and peritoneal dialysis, which internally cleans the blood. The dialysis machine is expected to help hundreds of people with chronic kidney disease. Meanwhile, power challenges that have been affecting the provincial hospital are set to be a thing of the past after Lifeline Dolomite of Italy donated a 500kva generator.

Said Dr Mawire: “We have for a long time suffered with the challenge of power cuts. The power cuts would affect critical departments such as radiology, laboratory and theatre.” The generator will be connected to the radiology, theatres, ICU, laboratory, renal unit and cardiology. This, Dr Mawire said, will ensure minimal interruption of power supply to the critical departments. It will be complemented by the old generator, which will soon be installed with an automatic switch to avoid manually switching it on, which takes time as someone moves to its location.