Government introduces minimum standards for dialysis services

The Maldives government on Monday has announced the minimum standards for providing dialysis services in the Maldives.

In a report, now publicized by the ministry, it’s Quality Assurance and Regulations Division highlighted that by adhering to “these national standards” dialysis units across local hospitals will be better equipped in delivering high-quality care along with improved patient trust and health outcomes.

The ministry said the National Standards for Providing Hemodialysis Services was developed in order to establish a framework of best practices and quality benchmarks for the delivery of dialysis care, and to maintain safety and effectiveness of services.

The ministry has broken down the standards into a number of requirements, which are;

• General Requirements
• License Requirements
• Human Resource
• Water Quality
• Health Information Management
• Infection Control Measures
• Enforcement and Sanctions
• Schedule of Equipment

As part of the standards, all facilities that provide this service have been mandated to meet specific prerequisites before they become operational. These requirements include emergency electric power supply to counter power cuts, mandatory optimum temperature for dialysis bays, air conditioning in hemodialysis machine areas, and rooms of consultants, technicians, and nurses.

Moreover, dialysis units cannot operate without first obtaining the necessary registration and operating license from the Health Ministry in accordance with the Health Service Act and associated regulations.

The ministry, in its report said that these measures are imperative owing to the critical nature of dialysis treatment, and added the standards further aims to ensure high standards of care and operational consistency across all dialysis units in the Maldives.