The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital in Jamshedpur has awarded a Rs 2.31 crore tender for a government-run 10-bed dialysis centre, with the facility expected to become operational within three months, hospital officials said.
The new Jamshedpur dialysis centre is being established on the MGMMCH campus to expand access to kidney treatment. Hospital superintendent Dr Balram Jha told the Times of India that the agency awarded the tender would have three months to complete the work.
Patients covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme will receive dialysis free of cost at the new facility, according to Jha. Charges for patients who are not covered under the scheme have not yet been finalised.
The centre will include 10 dialysis beds and dialysis chairs, along with multi-parameter monitors, defibrillators, suction machines, weighing scales, refrigerators and other essential equipment. An RO water treatment plant, estimated to cost around Rs 55 lakh, will also be installed as part of the facility.
MGMMCH currently has a nine-bed dialysis unit operating under a public-private partnership model. The existing unit conducts around 15 to 18 dialysis sessions each day. Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries receive treatment free of charge, while patients without the scheme’s coverage are charged Rs 1,050 per session.
Jha said the PPP unit would be stopped after the fully government-run centre becomes operational because the hospital does not have enough space to operate both facilities. The transition will therefore link the opening of the new centre to the future availability of dialysis services on the campus.
The proposed facility is intended to serve patients with kidney failure and chronic kidney disease, including those whose kidneys have been damaged by diabetes or uncontrolled blood pressure. Patients requiring dialysis two or three times a week can face significant recurring costs, particularly when they are not covered by a government health scheme.
Residents who currently use the hospital’s dialysis services said the financial burden extends beyond the session fee. Prakash, an Adityapur resident who undergoes dialysis twice a week, told the Times of India that he spends more than Rs 2,000 a week in total and hoped the new centre would reduce the cost of regular treatment. Raja Singh, a Sidhgora resident who undergoes dialysis three times a week, said his Ayushman card allowed him to receive treatment without payment, while other patients paid Rs 1,050 per session.
Hospital sources said patients from all three districts of Kolhan would be able to access treatment at affordable rates or free of cost under applicable government schemes once the new centre is operational. The immediate milestone is the completion of the tendered work within the three-month period set by the hospital.
