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The Ministry of Health (MoH) has procured 30 additional dialysis machines for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
The new machines with their own supplies lasting a year will be placed at the hospital’s new Urology and Nephrology Center of Excellence and set up for use by year-end.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, Mustapha Salifu, the Head of the hospital’s Public Relations Office, revealed that the Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, initiated the purchase of the machines.
Their purpose is to enhance the hospital’s service provision and cost-effectiveness, while also avoiding potential shortages.
He mentioned that the new machines could obtain essential consumables from the open market at competitive prices, unlike the current machines that needed to order consumables from the manufacturers.
Mr Salifu mentioned that the Renal Dialysis Unit at the hospital closed two weeks ago because of a lack of supplies. However, he added that the hospital now has a large amount of necessary supplies for dialysis, which are currently being prepared for shipment at the Tema Port.
He mentioned that the unit would be available for outpatient dialysis starting tomorrow. He revealed that dialysis for hospitalized patients began again yesterday, with five patients receiving dialysis by 2 p.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.
NKONKONSA.com
