Dialysis services are now accessible to patients at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).
It follows the receipt of some quantities of consumables at the Renal Dialysis Unit which were airlifted into the country on Monday.
A statement issued by the hospital yesterday said with “immediate effect, patients could access dialysis upon scheduled appointment by the Unit.”
“Apart from this emergency consignment, the Ministry of Finance has granted tax waiver to expedite the clearance of the second container at the Tema port.
We anticipate receiving these additional supplies within the week, further strengthening the availability of the essential consumables for our services,” it said.
The statement while expressing appreciation to patients for their cooperation and patience during the period services were halted, thanked the Ministries of Health and Finance as well as other stakeholders in ensuring the timely availability of needed consumables.
“As a hospital, we remain committed to delivering the highest standard of care and has reviewed the processes involved in securing these essential supplies to forestall a recurrence of another break in the provision of renal dialysis services to our valued patients,” it assured.
Renal patients of the KBTH had threatened to picket over the lack of consumables and the closure of the unit in the last three weeks, putting their lives at risk.
The closure has allegedly led to the death of three persons as other patients were either left to fate or struggle to keep up with charges from private facilities which offered the service between GH¢600 and GH¢1000, per session as compared to public hospitals like the KBTH that charged about GH¢491 for each dialysis session.
In May last year, a similar incident occurred for close to six months, also allegedly leading to the death of 18 patients.
Upon a directive from the Health Minister, the centre was reopened to patients in November with the government and management of KBTH committing to mapping out strategies to reduce the facility’s indebtedness for consistent operations.
In June this year, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) announced the absorption of cost of dialysis for vulnerable patients till the end of December 2024.
Patients aged 18 to 59 years accessing dialysis at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Efia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, Ho Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital and KBTH, received subsidy for two dialysis sessions per month at GH¢982.00, which translates GH¢491 per session.
Those under 18 years and above 60 years, the scheme has absorbed the costs of all eight dialysis sessions per month for patient’s as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations.
About 1,000 people are estimated to be on dialysis treatment in the country.
The KBTH has 350 patients and runs close to 2,000 sessions of dialysis every month.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
