The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital’s administration has reopened the kidney unit to outpatients after a five-month hiatus.
This was in response to a mandate from the Ministry of Health.
Patients, on the other hand, have been requested to present laboratory test results before being booked for dialysis.
The renal facility was closed in May for a partial makeover and a lack of consumables, only to reopen to patients in October 2023 at a higher cost.
However, patient and public indignation at the projected cost rise from GH380 to GH765.42 resulted in the facility’s immediate closure, despite the fact that intensive treatment was provided for emergency situations.
However, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, directed the ho According to Baffour Kojo Ahenkra, president of the Renal Patients Association, the reopening of the facility is a great step forward for renal patients in the country.
He stated that they had been ordered to do laboratory tests as part of precautionary measures against suspected infections from recent surgeries at private facilities.
“The normal practise is that since the place was closed for five months, we need to do some lab tests to check HIV, Hepatitis B and C for them to check and see if we are free from any bacterial infection after visiting other private centres during the period,” he went on to say spital’s administration to readmit outpatients.
However, Ahenkra stated that due to a lack of dialysis machines and consumables, outpatients would only be entitled to one dialysis session per week instead of two, and he urged the government to provide more dialysis equipment and reduce taxes on consumables so that they could attend their weekly sessions.
Ahenkra stated that the unit would be stressed because to the high volume of ward, emergency, and outpatient cases, and that the 15 machines now provided would be insufficient due to the large number of patients.
Enock Brako, a renal patient from Kyebi in the Eastern Region, expressed relief that the Unit was reopened.
“I received a call from the unit yesterday asking me to come in for a request form for my labs, so I came in this morning and completed the tests while waiting for my results.”
