The Municipal Corporation of Delhi plans to establish dialysis centres at seven of its hospitals under a public-private partnership model, with the proposed facilities intended to reduce treatment costs and travel burdens for kidney patients. Eligible Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries will receive cashless services, Standing Committee chairperson Satya Sharma said.
The proposed centres will be located at Swami Dayanand Hospital in Dilshad Garden, Bak Ram Hospital in Timarpur, UPHC Fatehpur Beri, Mata Gujri Hospital in Tilak Nagar, Purnima Sethi Multi-Speciality Hospital in Kalkaji, Shrimati Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital near Ajmeri Gate and Veer Savarkar Arogya Sansthan in Karawal Nagar.
The plan is aimed at patients who require dialysis regularly and currently face high recurring expenses at private hospitals. Sharma said a single private dialysis session costs around Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500. Patients undergoing the procedure two to three times a week can therefore face a substantial financial burden, apart from the time and cost involved in travelling to treatment facilities.
Under the proposed arrangement, one private service provider will operate all seven centres through a cluster model. The selected agency will install dialysis machines, deploy technical staff and manage the operation and maintenance of the facilities. The MCD will provide space at a nominal licence fee of Rs 1 per month for each centre.
The hospitals will supply water through their existing arrangements, while the private agency will bear the electricity expenses. The civic body will not make any direct payment to the service provider and will not guarantee a minimum number of patients under the arrangement, according to the statement issued by Sharma.
The initial contract is proposed to run for 10 years, with an extension of up to five years subject to satisfactory performance and other prescribed conditions. A review is scheduled for the fifth year. The service provider will be selected through an open e-tendering process, and the contract is proposed to be awarded to the technically qualified bidder offering the highest discount.
The proposed network would place dialysis capacity within a wider spread of MCD hospitals, including facilities in east, north, south, west and central parts of the city. Its eventual effect on patient access will depend on the tender process, installation of equipment, staffing and the operational start of each centre. The next formal step is the open e-tendering process through which the civic body will select the private agency.
