In CMC Vellore, Nurses play a vital role in providing safe, accessible and affordable health care services to our patients. For many patients with chronic illnesses, Nurse-led clinics provide education, support, timely and continued care throughout their treatment.
The Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) Programme is one such Nurse-led service. Every year, lakhs of people are diagnosed with End-Stage Kidney Disease. Life-saving Kidney transplants or hemodialysis are not available or affordable for many who may die of kidney failure. On the other hand, PD is a feasible option requiring no advanced machinery, infrastructure or vascular access. A PD Nurse is trained to assess and decide the PD prescription, perform exchanges, identify and manage complications, provide training and counselling and refer patients to Nephrologists.
On their initial visit, patients are uncertain and anxious. Nurses train the patient and their care giver till they are confident to conduct the PD at home. Saranya*, a middle school teacher, has been on PD for the last 6 years. PD has helped her have the dialysis in the comfort of her home and continue teaching without a hinderance. She says with tears in her eyes, “I thought this disease would kill me in two years. I am grateful for the Nursing staff. Their encouraging words were life and gave me strength to live.”
CMC offers a short course on Peritoneal Dialysis for nurses, especially from low-resource settings. This training enables Nurses to spearhead PD programmes in rural hospitals where transplant or costly hemodialysis facilities are not available, thus improving the quality of life for their patients.
Today, on International Nurses Day, let us celebrate our Nurses for their commitment, dedication and compassionate care for patients. We applaud them as they work towards addressing global health challenges and improving health for all.
*Name changed
Pictures and details contributed by Nursing Service
