BRIEFS: Medical

Problems at dialysis unit continue

david mesa/la prensa

overcrowded: The government has a fraction of the resources that it needs to treat people with kidney problems.1107110

The crisis surrounding the care offered to patients in the dialysis unit of the Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital has not been resolved.

Patients announced that they will meet with members of the Health Committee of the Board of Directors of the Caja de Seguro Social (CSS), which operates the facility.

David Ocalagan, the president of a foundation dedicated to helping people with kidney disease that bears his name, said that overcrowding in the unit is a serious problem.

Ocalagan said that there are 250,000 people suffering from some type of kidney disease in the country, and that 1,500 people seek treatment at the CSS center every month.

This has put a strain on resources at the facility, and also on the staff.

While CSS officials have announced that five additional nurses had been hired to work at the facility, it will take about three months to train them, meaning existing staff will continue to face long hours at work with little relief.