Dialysis delays spark concern at UHWI

Twice each week, long before daybreak, a 48-year-old St Thomas man begins a journey he says is essential to staying alive -- travelling to the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) in St Andrew, uncertain whether a dialysis machine will be available when he arrives.

He has relied on dialysis services at UHWI for the past six years, having been diagnosed with kidney failure in 2019. James*, though, contends that he has been facing significant challenges in getting treatment because of frequent breakdowns of machines at the hospital.

"Mi have to be wondering if dem want to kill me off," he said, his voice heavy with frustration.

His life, James explained, took a dramatic turn in 2019 while he was overseas on Jamaica's Farm Work Programme in the United States. While picking fruit in Massachusetts, he began experiencing swelling in his feet and soon became gravely ill.

"The day mi foot dem swell up, mi didn't know what was happening to me. Dem have to call ambulance. When mi reach hospital over there, dem tell me is kidney problem mi have," he recalled.

He was hospitalised in the US for about two weeks before being sent back to Jamaica.

"Mi did swell up like bullfrog -- from foot to face," he said.

Since returning home, James has relied on dialysis services at UHWI. However, he said that since late last year, treatments have become increasingly disrupted because of out-of-service machines.

"Sometimes no machine, sometimes no water. It constant, and nobody nah say nothing. We really suffer," he said.

On the day THE STAR spoke with him, the man sat outside UHWI among several other dialysis patients awaiting treatment. Some, he said, became frustrated and left. For him, however, going home untreated is not an option.

"Fi come from morning time and sit down a wait on machine don't make sense. Mi come before dem open and write mi name in the book. Spend money come so far, and then go home?" he said.

Struggling to breathe and coughing intermittently, he said he was sixth in line and estimated it would be hours before his turn, as each patient requires three to four hours on a dialysis machine -- a delay he believes further compromises his health.

Dialysis machines are medical devices designed to filter and remove waste, excess fluids, and toxins from the blood when a person's kidneys are no longer able to perform this vital function effectively.

"Without the machine, is pure shortness of breath," James said. "Some people can dead. So, right now, as mi say, a kill dem a kill me off," he said.

His wife accompanies him to every treatment at the UHWI, ensuring they arrive early in hopes of leaving on time so she can return to work. On days when his condition worsens, she fears for his life.

"Some days she afraid, so she carry me go a work with her. Mi just sit down in the car with the AC. Mi can't lift nothing heavy, so mi just deh with her," he said.

Contacted for comment on the dialysis service disruptions, an official at the UHWI acknowledged ongoing challenges.

"The situation is that there has been an influx in cases in the last six months. We have to change suppliers, and one is expected to come in this week or next to assess machines and conduct servicing and repairs," the official said.

According to the hospital, only nine of the 24 dialysis machines are currently operational.

"The reality is that this is not good with the increase in patients, I wouldn't call it a backlog but, the fact that machines are down, it naturally means that patients would be sure to get service," the official said.

"Also I am assuming some cases are more priority than others and needs to be treated more than another patient," he added.

The UHWI said it is actively working to resolve the situation.