Patient Profiles
Patients are typically referred to the Foundation by medical social workers from restructured government hospitals and are subjected to means-testing¹. KDF has served over 983 patients to date, 78 of whom have gained a new lease of life through a kidney transplant.
Patient Statistics
Patients under the haemodialysis programme are cared for at KDF dialysis centres, while those under the peritoneal dialysis programme receive portable subsidies for their treatment and laboratory tests.
As of 31 March 2022, our total patient count stood at 275. Of these, 96% of patients opted for haemodialysis.
Figure: Distribution of patients by treatment type
For patients who are unable to receive treatment at KDF dialysis centres due to their complex medical conditions, they will receive portable subsidies from KDF to dialyse at a private centre.
As of 31 March 2022, 6 patients benefitted from our haemodialysis portable subsidies.
Age
Elderly patients (above 61 years old) form the largest segment of patients served at KDF, followed by those in the middle-age range (41 – 60 years old).
As of 31 March 2022, 64% of KDF patients were elderly and 32% were middle-aged, with only 4% in the age group of 40 years old and younger.
Figure: Distribution of patients by age
Gender and Race
Gender distribution among KDF patients was fairly equal. In terms of racial composition, Chinese patients accounted for 69%, while Malay patients formed more than a quarter of the total patient population.
Figure: Distribution of patients according to gender
Figure: Distribution of patients according to race
Employment Status
Only 12% of KDF patients are employed, with the rest being either retired, homemakers or unable to find employment due to age or underlying medical conditions. Those employed were mostly blue-collar workers such as drivers, machine operators, cleaners or general workers.
Figure: Distribution of patients by employment type
While most of our patients were independent, close to a quarter of our patients were wheelchair-bound, and the rest required some form of assistance or supervision. Since 2019, we have been hiring dialysis aides to support these patients at our dialysis centres, to prevent injuries and accidents from happening.
Mobility
Figure: Distribution of patients by mobility
KDF patients receive subsidies of varying amounts for their dialysis treatments, medication, and transportation fees, depending on their household income.
As of 31 March 2022, 81% of our patients did not have to pay any out-of-pocket expenses for dialysis treatments.
Table: Out-of-Pocket expenses of patients for dialysis treatment
Patient Subsidy
Based on means-testing criteria set by the Ministry of Health (MOH), 100% of KDF’s patients qualified for government subsidies. The table below shows the number of KDF patients who were under the various income-bands under the MOH means-test.
Table: Patients per capita income based on MOH means-test
¹ Means-testing is used to determine the amount of subsidies each patient is eligible for. Persons from lower-income households will be granted higher subsidies under the means-testing framework