The Ministry of Health (MoH) has procured 30 additional dialysis machines for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

The new machines, which have their own consumables that can last for a year, will be deployed to the new Urology and Nephrology Centre of Excellence at the hospital and installed for use before the end of the year.

The Head of the Public Relations Office of the hospital, Mustapha Salifu, who disclosed this in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, said the machines were purchased through the initiative of the Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye.

They are meant to improve the hospital’s service delivery and cost efficiency, as well as prevent future shortages.

He said unlike the machines they were presently using which required the ordering of consumables from the manufacturers, the specifications of the new machines allowed them to access their essential consumables from the open market at competitive prices.

Touching on the shutdown of the Renal Dialysis Unit of the hospital a fortnight ago due to the shortage of consumables, Mr Salifu said the hospital had managed to secure a significant quantity of essential consumables for dialysis, which it explained, were being processed for delivery at the Tema Port.

As such, he said, the unit would be open for dialysis for outpatients by tomorrow.  He disclosed that dialysis for inpatients resumed yesterday, with five inpatients being dialysed to by 2p.m.

"The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Ghana Supply Company are providing vital support to expedite this clearance on an emergency basis to ensure that we continue to deliver top-notch care to our valued patients. We anticipate that the outpatient section of our Dialysis Centre will return to full operations by Wednesday," Mr Salifu said.

Explaining what led to the shutdown, Mr Salifu said the consumables were expected to be cleared from the port two weeks ago but procedural lapses and documentation issues on the part of the shipping line unfortunately delayed the process.

He said during the period, they had to temporarily shift dialysis operations and refer some of the patients to the National Cardiothoracic Centre of the hospital to minimise disruption and inconvenience to patients.

"We sincerely apologise to our patients and clients for any inconvenience this situation may have caused and wish to express gratitude for their restraint and understanding," he said.

He extended the gratitude of the hospital to the Minister of Health, the Ministry of Finance and GRA, among others, for helping to overcome the challenge.

Welcome news

Reacting to the news of the reopening of the Renal Dialysis Unit, the President of the Renal Patient Association of Ghana, Baffour Kojo Ahenkorah, said it was welcome news because they did not need to seek the services of private facilities where the cost of treatment was very high.

“The cheapest we get are between GH¢600 to GH¢1,000. Your medication has not come; your injection has not come. So roughly, you need to look for about GH¢1,500 a week if you go to the private facilities. Korle Bu charges GH¢491 per session and that is the cheapest you can get anywhere,” he explained.

Mr Ahenkorah said apart from the cheap cost, the treatment at Korle Bu was quality, explaining that it had a powerful machine, which after passing through, felt like one’s system was working well.

“The kind of services Korle Bu provides some of the private facilities cannot compare with them. That is why when the unit is shut down, we are worried,” he said.

He called on the hospital to find a lasting solution to the problem of shortage of consumables, adding that almost every day somebody had to be dialysed.