Having returned Torrevieja Hospital to public management in October 2021 and all of the problems that continues to bring, removing the private healthcare company Ribera Salud, the health department has now awarded the contract for dialysis to a private company, as the equipment which would have been maintained by the previous successful private company is showing very significant deterioration, due to both intensive use and its age, and so will now be provided by a different private company at a cost of over 7 million euro.
The Torrevieja Health Department has awarded Fresenius Medical Care España SL, a subsidiary of a German company, the contract for the supply of haemodialysis and dialysis to the Torrevieja hospital, with a forecast of 15,600 annual sessions. The contract, divided into two lots, has been awarded in its entirety to the same company, for a total of 7,149,285 euro. The first was intended for supplies for haemodialysis and media filtration in the chronic patient unit, while the second batch will be destined for acute and critical patients.
The contract includes the supply of haemodialysis kits and services for carrying out dialysis sessions of the Nephrology Service of the Torrevieja Health Department, as well as the transfer of the equipment necessary to carry out these treatments. The successful bidder, in addition to supplying all the material and equipment necessary to carry out the haemodialysis and hemodiafiltration treatments online, must assume all the expenses derived from its installation and start-up, in addition to also assuming the comprehensive maintenance of the elements subject to transfer (preventive, corrective and technical-legal), the updating and improvement of the software and all types of licences that may be required for the proper use of said equipment, and the adequate training of health personnel in the nephrology service.
The document also includes the IT service staff of the Torrevieja Health Department and the external staff required from the service, when necessary, depending on the work to be carried out, and in order to guarantee the operability, functionality and quality in the satisfaction of service needs.
Thus, the hospital centre is guaranteed these supplies until the end of 2028, since the contract contemplated from the end of 2023 until the end of that year.
Haemodialysis is a kidney function replacement treatment that involves periodically filtering the blood. During this process, blood is removed from the body and circulated through a dialyser, or filter, where accumulated toxins and excess fluids are eliminated. The clean blood is then returned to the patient’s body. Online hemodiafiltration is considered the dialysis technique that most closely resembles kidney function and in recent years it has become established as an alternative to conventional haemodialysis.
Founded in 1996, and with some 128,000 employees, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA is a German healthcare company which provides kidney dialysis services through a network of 4,171 outpatient dialysis centres, serving 345,425 patients. Their 2022 turnover was just short of 19.4 billion euro.
