SPMC to cater more kidney patients soon

More kidney patients will be catered in the biggest government-owned hospital in Mindanao — Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) as the construction of the Kidney Transplant Institute is expected to be completed this year or next year, an official said.

“There is an ongoing construction of our Kidney Center in SPMC. This building is solely for Kidney Diseases. Hopefully (the construction will be done) within this year or by next year,” Dr. Trisha Manalaysay, nephrologist of Southern Philippines Medical Center told reporters yesterday at the Kapehan sa Dabaw Press Conference at SM City.

According to Manalaysay, the framework is already done and “they are working on it 24 hours”.

Manalaysay said more kidney patients will be catered in the four-story facility as they will be adding more dialysis machines.

“From 60 machines, it will now be 100. So hopefully, we can cater to more patients because SPMC touches even up to Surigao, and others. In fact the whole Mindanao,” she said.

With the addition of new machines, patients that will be catered is expected to grow to 50%. From the current 400 patients, they expect to cater 800 to 1000 patients.

The facility is located at the back of the Mindanao Heart Center inside SPMC.

Manalaysay owes the building to the vision of SPMC Chief of Hospital Dr. Leopoldo Vega.

“This is his project from his vision. We now have the heart center, maternal and wellness center, now this kidney center, and I think there will be an orthopedic center soon,” she said.

With the prospect of more patients that will be catered in the center, Manalaysay said their looming problem is on the number of nurses available.

“If there is a limiting factor is the manpower of nurses. We have many nurses who are now abroad,” she said.

She called young nurses, including fresh graduates, to serve in the country first.

“We need more nurses to cater them all. We are trying to encourage them to at least, after graduation, serve our country first even for just two to three years so that we can sustain our services here,” she said.

Manalaysay also noted that they have encouraged young nurses little by little to go to special areas such as dialysis.

Despite providing facilities to cater more patients, Manalaysay said their prime goal is for prevention.

“Our primary aim is for prevention because these are government resources that comes from us. Hopefully, we can promote to lower the rate of kidney failure and dialysis,” she said.