According to the Renal Patients Association, the closure of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital's (KBTH) Renal Dialysis Unit to outpatients in May 2023 has resulted in significant financial hardship for the outpatients.
The Renal Patients Association claims that since then, a total of 14 outpatients have reportedly passed away because they were unable to secure the necessary money for dialysis at private institutions.
The group claims that the patients' inability to receive dialysis treatment in private facilities—which they claim charge more than what is charged at Korle Bu for the therapy provided—was the reason behind the fatalities.
The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in May 2023 shut down the Renal Unit to outpatients even though in-patients have access to the facility.
The reason for the shut down to outpatients was that there was a delay in the delivery of some consumables.
At a press conference in Accra on Monday [October 2, 2023], a spokesperson for the Renal Patients Association, Michael Asante said “As we speak, the renal unit has been closed since 22 May 2023 up to date to outpatients.”
He added that “Patients have gone through turbulent times as we struggle to finance our dialysis treatment at private dialysis centres across the centres. Unfortunately, during this shutdown period, we have lost about 14 of our friends…This has left the rest of us living in constant fear for our tomorrow. This is because we do not know who among us will be next to lose their lives needlessly.”
He, therefore, appealed to the government to waive the costs of dialysis treatment for renal patients and to include these cases in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
-By Rebecca Azu|Mydailyreports24|Ghana
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