Kidney patients from the El Ángel dialysis unit in the city of Barquisimeto in Lara State, got together this Thursday morning in a peaceful protest to make visible the situation in which they find themselves caused by the shortage of dialysis machines and other problems within the facility.
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Patients describe the current situation as “critical”, since 6 of the 32 machines are damaged and each one of these is used by three patients on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while another set of three patients use them on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, which means that for each damaged machine, there are 6 patients who cannot receive their treatment.
Patients stated that after a technical review, it was found that these machines have damaged motors. It is necessary to mention that these dialysis units are extra-hospital, so the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security pays a fee to the owners, but they claim not to have the budget to repair them and that the Social Security Institute does not give any kind of response in this regard.
In view of the situation, this Tuesday a new shift was created from 7:00 to 10:30 at night to be able to dialyze the affected patients, since they cannot be left without their treatments. However, this new shift can only service those patients who have the means and possibility of moving around at night.
On the other hand, they have implemented the option that patients during the usual hours give up a few minutes of their shift to those who are left without the machine.
At least 160 patients receive their dialysis treatments in this unit, who in addition to having problems with the machines, must face the lack of air conditioning, a problem which has not been resolved either.
The lack of air conditioning also puts patients at risk because high temperatures and humidity facilitate the spread of bacteria. Some patients use catheters but others use fistulas, leaving them exposed to infections that would bring with them more complex problems to the health of these patients. In addition to that, we must mention the high temperatures currently recorded in the state of Lara, which also influences the conditions in which they must receive their treatments.
In the midst of this discouraging panorama, patients are calling on both the Social Security authorities and the owners of this healthcare center, in order to find solutions that guarantee that they will receive their treatments and, at the same time, have facilities in adequate conditions.