Cuttack: 30 kidney patients stage stir

BHUBANESWAR: A group of patients suffering from kidney ailments and their family members have been staging dharnas in front of the residence of health minister Naba Kisore Das since Monday demanding better services at the nephrology department of the SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack.
Around 30 kidney patients have taken part in the dharna, braving health complications and winter and even cooking food in front of the minister's residence. The protesters alleged that the hospital does not provide standard medicines and proper care to the patients. They demanded appointment of specialist doctors and professors at the nephrology department of the SCB.
Health secretary Shalini Pandit said she has conducted a meeting with the agitators. "The protesters are mostly family members of patients. Free medicines and healthcare have been assured," she added.
The patients and their relatives had staged dharnas at Lower PMG for several days from July 14 demanding appointment of professors at the nephrology department of SCB and proper medicine for kidney patients of SCB. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had attracted the attention of the state government to fulfil the demands of agitating patients and their relatives.
Lopamudra Nayak, a city resident and a kidney patient, said the state government should provide proper medicine for them. "We had been taking our medicines which were suitable for our health condition. Later, when the hospital provided medicine of a different brand, there were side effects. We want the state to provide the medicines which we were taking earlier," she added.
Jayashree Behera, a Balasore resident, whose husband has recently undergone kidney transplantation, said the state should appoint professors and expert doctors at the nephrology and urology departments .
"After our agitation at Lower PMG, the state government had provided proper medicine to patients in October. But later it again asked the patients to take the medicine which are available with the hospital. This is unfortunate," said Behera.