Dialysis network expansion targets rural care gap
Vijayawada: The state government has accelerated the expansion of its public dialysis infrastructure, moving to operationalise 13 new centres across secondary hospitals as part of a wider push to reduce the burden on rural kidney patients and cut dependence on costly private care.
Medical and health minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav said in a statement on Saturday that tenders have already been issued for six centres, while decisions have been taken to establish new dialysis facilities at community and area hospitals in Kondepi, Mydukur, Kovvuru, Nandigama and Railway Koduru. Services at most of the new units are scheduled to begin by April, with two centres expected to start operations much sooner.
The expansion is being taken up under the Prime Minister National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP) and includes facilities in tribal regions, a segment that has traditionally faced limited access to specialised renal care. According to the Health Department, the total estimated expenditure for the 13 centres stands at Rs 11.05 crore.
Each dialysis centre will be equipped with blood purification machines and related equipment costing around Rs 85 lakh per unit. Five machines will be installed at every centre, enabling three dialysis sessions per machine per day.
This capacity translates into roughly 375 dialysis sessions per month at each location, significantly easing pressure on district hospitals and urban referral centres.
Apart from the five newly sanctioned centres, tenders are already in progress for dialysis units at area hospitals in Bhimavaram and Pileru, and at community health centres in Venkatagiri, Addanki, Sunnipenta and Jammalamadugu. Separately, newly set-up facilities at S. Kota in Vizianagaram district and Seethampeta in Parvathipuram Manyam district are ready to begin services shortly.
Minister Satya Kumar said the NDA coalition government has moved swiftly to expand dialysis coverage, with a target of establishing 25 centres within 19 months. In comparison, only 19 dialysis centres were set up during the previous YSRCP government’s five-year tenure, he said.
The impact of the expanded network is already visible. Under PMNDP, free dialysis services worth Rs 46 crore have been delivered through secondary hospitals up to December 2025–26. During this period, 6,425 patients received treatment through more than 4.12 lakh dialysis sessions, sparing families the financial strain of private care, where a single session can cost Rs 3,000–Rs 4,000.
Beyond the new centres, dialysis services are being provided through a total of 247 facilities statewide—186 affiliated centres under the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust and 61 managed by the Directorate of Secondary Health. In 2024–25 alone, the NDA coalition government spent about Rs 164 crore on kidney care, underlining healthcare access as a fiscal and policy priority.
