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The Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) has said it is having an influx of patients requiring kidney dialysis, since its implementation of the N12,000 kidney dialysis subsidy by the Federal Government.
Consultant Nephrologist and Head of Nephrology Unit at JUTH, Prof. Oche Agbaji, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday in Jos, Plateau State capital.
Agbaji, who also specialises in HIV Medicine, attributed the surge in the number of patients seeking kidney dialysis to the subsidy introduced by the Federal Government in August.
According to him, most kidney failure patients from other hospitals, as well as those who cannot afford the treatment, are now coming to JUTH to benefit from the subsidy.
He said the Dialysis Unit was now operating for 24 hours because of the large number of patients needing dialysis.
Agbaji commended the Federal Government for its intervention and said the inittiative would go a long way in alleviating the plight of kidney patients seeking dialysis.
He, however, cautioned the public not to wait until they were diagnosed with a kidney problem before seeking medical attention.
The professor advised that persons without hypertension, diabetes, and without a family history of kidney disease should go for a kidney function test as lest once a year.
He said persons who were hypertensive, diabetic, and with a family history of kidney diseases should conduct a kidney check at least once every quarter.
Speaking with NAN, Mr Abdul Lawal, a patient who goes for dialysis twice weekly, commended the Federal Government for subsidisiing the cost of dialysis.
Similarly, Mr Shola Popo, whose son also undergoes dialysis twice a week, commended the government for the kind gesture.
Popo, however, appealed to the Federal Government to further reduce the cost .
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