Dialysis services at Jalpaiguri Medical College’s Super Specialty Hospital have been severely affected after four machines broke down at the same time. With only one machine functioning, the unit has nearly come to a halt, leaving patients struggling for treatment.

As a result, patients are being redirected to the district hospital’s dialysis unit, leading to overcrowding there. Just days ago, five machines at the district hospital had also broken down, highlighting ongoing infrastructure issues in both facilities.

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The dialysis unit was first set up at Jalpaiguri district hospital in 2014 to provide free treatment to kidney patients from across the region. However, frequent machine failures led authorities to start a new unit at the Super Specialty Hospital around four years ago. The district unit was temporarily shut but reopened last year with five new machines to manage patient load.

Currently, both units together handle around 30 patients daily across four shifts. Despite this, repeated breakdowns are causing serious inconvenience.

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Patients have shared their difficulties. Amit Roy from Mainaguri, who brought his wife for dialysis, said, “When I came here, I saw only one machine was running. The rest were broken. Then I was told to go to the district hospital unit. The distance from Super Specialty to district hospital is four kilometers. This is stressful for patients.”

Mohammad Ansari, who travelled from Haldibari in Cooch Behar with his father, said, “After sitting for a long time, we were finally told to go to the district unit.”

Kalyan Khan, MSVP of Jalpaiguri Medical College, said, “Not only from Jalpaiguri, but many patients from neighboring districts also come here for dialysis. Naturally, this puts pressure on the machines. That’s why the machines have broken down. The matter has been reported to higher authorities. I hope the machines will be repaired very soon.”