The Renal Patients Association has disclosed that 14 individuals who were receiving outpatient care at the renal unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital lost their lives after the unit was shut down in May 2023.According to the association, the closure had serious consequences, preventing these patients from accessing the necessary medical treatment.

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Again, these patients were forced to seek more expensive dialysis treatment at private centers, hence leading to their unfortunate deaths.Speaking to the media, spokesperson for the association, Michael Asante, expressed deep concern over the situation and called on the government to waive the costs of dialysis treatment for renal patients and incorporate such cases into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

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“As we speak, the renal unit has been closed since 22 May 2023 up to date to outpatients,” Asante said. “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.

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This is because we do not know who amongst us will be next to lose their lives needlessly.”Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has criticized the management of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for increasing dialysis fees without the required parliamentary or ministerial approval. Patients at the Renal Unit faced a significant fee hike, leading to a summons from the ministry to the hospital's management to explain the decision.

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The Ministry of Health's Public Relations Officer, Isaac Offei Baah, on the other hand has described the fee increase without proper approval as "illegal."

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