Significant reduction in number of kidney disease patients - Health Minister

The number of patients suffering from kidney disease has steadily declined during the past three years, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne claimed in Parliament today (27).

By Sandun Jayawardana

Speaking during the debate on the Expenditure Head of his Ministry, Mr Senaratne stated that the number of kidney patients in the North-Central Province, which bore the brunt of the disease, has significantly reduced. 

The number of kidney patients Anuradhapura district stood at 3372 in 2016. This number had reduced to 2011 by 2018. The number of kidney patients in the Polonnaruwa district had been 1876 in 2016, but had reduced to 1048 by 2018, he added.

Dr Senaratne said the figures he had with him shows that the number of kidney patients had been increasing since 2006 and that it was only after policies implemented by the current Government in 2015 that the numbers started to reduce from 2016 onwards.

He noted that the number of kidney dialysis machines, of which there were only 228 island-wide when he took over as Health Minister, had been increased to 500 now. “We hope to increase the number to 1000 by the end of this year,” he told Parliament.

He added that the Ministry has also initiated peritoneal dialysis; a treatment method which allows kidney patients to undergo treatment in their home and even while sleeping. All this has contributed to the number of kidney patients being reduced, he stressed. 

However, Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) Leader Douglas Devananda said there continued to be significant number of patients suffering from kidney disease in the Northern Province.