Patients denounce long hemodialysis waits at CSS Hospital Complex

Patients receiving hemodialysis at the Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital Complex of the CSS are denouncing accumulated delays across various treatment shifts. This situation, which they claim has been recurring for weeks, has reached a critical point due to the high demand for this life-sustaining treatment.

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We are the first shift. We almost always start between five and five-thirty. And look at the time, and we are still outside.

Testimonies reveal that patients scheduled for evening shifts are waiting until the following morning, while those in early morning and predawn shifts also face extended waits. The problem stems from a sustained increase in patients requiring hemodialysis, with approximately 10 new cases emerging each week, overwhelming the existing facilities. Each of the five daily shifts, which ideally should accommodate three to four turns, is struggling to keep up.

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In terms of capacity, ideally, we would have three shifts here, a maximum of four shifts. Right now, we are having five shifts.

A hemodialysis session lasts about four hours, and the subsequent cleaning and preparation of equipment add more time. This means that the time between shifts can extend to five hours, leading to a cumulative delay when five shifts are squeezed into a 24-hour day. The CSS has stated that new hemodialysis units will soon open in other centers to reduce demand and improve response times, aiming to ensure the continuity of vital treatment for renal patients.

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When you see it, it takes about five hours between one shift and another. If you have five hours and five shifts, that's 25 hours, and the day only has 24.