The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) has announced that it has obtained a significant quantity of essential consumables for dialysis, which are currently being processed for delivery from the Tema Port.
In a statement, the hospital’s management explained that the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Supply Company are working to expedite the clearance process on an emergency basis, ensuring the hospital can continue providing high-quality care to its patients.
This update follows the unexpected closure of the hospital’s renal unit nearly two weeks ago, for which no official explanation was initially provided. President of the Kidney Patients Association, Baffour Ahenkorah, confirmed that three patients had died as a result of the unit’s closure.
The sudden closure of the Renal Unit has been strongly condemned by the Health Committee of Parliament. In response, KBTH management clarified, “We anticipate that the outpatient section of our Dialysis Centre will return to full operations early next week. While we had initially hoped to have these supplies cleared from the port two weeks ago, procedural lapses and documentation on the part of the shipping line, unfortunately, caused a delay in the clearance.”
The statement continued, “During this period, we temporarily shifted dialysis operations and had some of the patients dialysed at the National Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to minimize disruption and [not] inconvenience patients. We are working diligently to resolve the clearance process over the weekend, and we are optimistic that normal services will resume promptly.”
The hospital’s management extended its apologies to patients and clients for the inconvenience caused and expressed gratitude for their patience and understanding.
To prevent future shortages and enhance service delivery and cost efficiency, the Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, has procured 30 additional dialysis machines along with a year’s supply of consumables for Korle Bu. “The specifications of the new machines will allow us to access their essential consumables from the open market at competitive prices,” the statement added.
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