Dialysis Dilemma!

Dialysis Dilemma!
Friday, 19.06.2009, 08:44am (GMT-6)

By Lisbeth Ayuso

BELIZE - A proposal by the Social Security Board (SSB) to assist the Ministry of Health with a loan to provide full Hemeo Dialysis services at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), has come to a grinding halt after the ministry decided to renew Belize Health Care Partners’ contract for another two years.

Lois Young, the SSB’s Chairman, told the Reporter the proposal was made to the government in November or December of last year. The vision was to provide a full range of services for diabetics, including dialysis at the KHMH at a cheaper cost for patients.

According to Young, the board was offering the Ministry a loan of a few million dollars to get the project started at the KHMH. The Board envisioned the service being cheaper than that offered by Belize Health Care Partners and suggested that the money used to contract services from Belize Health Care Partners, be used to repay the loan.

“We envisioned a bigger dream,” said Young, “We figured on a center that could be accessed in the region.”

According to Young, negotiations started off well with the Ministry providing a three person team for a fact finding mission, which was led by Dr. Michael Pitts.

“The group seemed enthusiastic but in the middle of the negotiations the Ministry renewed BHCP’s contract,” she said.

At that point the SSB closed the book on that chapter, concluding that its proposal was not accepted.

Dr. Peter Allen, The Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Health, has defended his Ministry’s renewed contract by explaining that offering dialysis service is extremely expensive and can put a severe strain on the ministry’s resources.

According to Allen, the Ministry renewed the contract for a two year period and will cover the cost of care for 20 people at a reduced cost of $500 for each session.

Initially Belize Heath Care Partners offered the service for $748 per session per person without medication.

According to Dr. Allen, the present government renegotiated the price per session with BHCP, effectively saving the government money.

Allen also explained that the implementation of dialysis would need to be planned carefully in so far as training staff, having adequate space to offer the service and the funding to offer it.

In his view, the two year period offered by BHCP’s contract, is the opportunity needed in which to plan.

The Ministry has to date explored dialysis options with a medical group in Mexico, a group of Belizean doctors and has even contacted Clinica Carranza in Chetumal to work on a contract for the attention of 10 Belizeans. Negotiations on the latter continue.

And while all this may be as Doctor Allen says, a source within the Ministry of Health has indicated that the Ministry had prepared an entire feasibility study for the SSB when the loan proposal was made.

According to the source, that plan called for a four month roll -out period and was in fact feasible if monitored closely. Most important was the fact that the service could be provided at less cost than that of Belize Healthcare Partners were willing to offer.

So what happened? Someone at the Ministry decided to stall the proceedings and torpedo the project, says one source.

These claims were refuted by Dr. Allen. He insisted that the economics of the service is critical and noted that the government has in fact agreed that dialysis should not be in private hands for profit and should in fact be in the public domain for people who cannot afford private care.

In the meantime, the renewed contract for BHCP sits at the Contractor General’s desk waiting for approval.

http://www.reporter.bz/article/Headline/3563/