Udupi hospital faces flak for dialysis machine shortage

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday took stock of the less than impressive state of the Udupi District Hospital, noting that it housed nonfunctional ventilators and didn’t pay salaries on time.

“As many as nine dialysis machines in the district hospital are not functional. Only a solitary machine is in working condition. The staff there hasn’t been paid for six months. They should be paid immediately,” Siddaramaiah told authorities.

The presence of functional dialysis machines is essential to keep patients with failing or failed kidneys alive. In the absence of a mechanism for purification of blood, patients with malfunctioning kidneys could die.