A patient has to pay Tk 4,000 per month for dialysis at CMCH, whereas it costs Tk 16,000 at private hospitals. If the service halts, many patients would die without treatment, as they cannot afford costs at private hospitals.

— Anwar Hossain Son of a kidney patient

Patients of Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) are gravely worried about whether they would be able to avail of dialysis service from next week.

On Sunday, a notice of Sandor Medicaids Pvt Ltd, the company that has been providing the service there, on public-private partnership, announced that it would stop dialysis service for an indefinite period, starting from yesterday.

The company mentioned that it is not getting its dues from the government for the last two years, and so, it could not pay suppliers.

However, it decided to continue the service till Monday, after talking to health ministry officials.

Preferring anonymity, a company official said the suppliers stopped providing necessary materials for dialysis.

The haemodialysis centre at CMCH has been running under management of Sandor Medicaids since 2017.

CMCH sources said as per the agreement, the company set up 31 machines, and patients got the service at a cost of Tk 486 per session. The government is supposed to give Tk 2,180 as subsidy for each session.

According to the agreement, the company would transfer the centre to the government after 10 years, the sources said.

Over a hundred dialyses are performed each day at the centre since its establishment in 2017.

Anwar Hossain, son of a patient, said a patient has to pay Tk 4,000 per month for dialysis at CMCH, whereas it costs Tk 16,000 at private hospitals.

If the service halts, many patients would die without treatment, as they cannot afford costs at private hospitals, he said.

Contacted, CMCH Deputy Director Dr Aftabul Islam said to his knowledge, the government owes the company Tk 4 crore.

"A meeting between officials of the company and health ministry was held on Tuesday," he said. "The matter will be resolved soon."