The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, has directed the management of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to immediately reopen the Renal Dialysis Unit for outpatient services.
The Unit was closed in May 2023 to outpatient services due to the high cost of dialysis consumables. A partial reopening of the Unit on Wednesday, September 27 was commissioned, with an announcement of an increase in dialysis treatment per session from GH¢380 to GH¢765.42.
The decision to reopen the Renal Dialysis Unit comes following the directive from the Minister of Health, who has instructed the Chief Executive Officer of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to ensure the immediate reopening of the centre.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Isaac Baah Ofei, “The Minister has directed the Chief Executive Officer of Korle-Bu to, as a matter of urgency, see to the opening of the centre, and so he directed as well that while it is opened, Korle-Bu should issue a statement for the general public to know exactly what is going on and when they can get access to the place.”
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for Juaboso, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, is calling for Parliament to summon the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, over the closure of the outpatient department of the Renal Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. The closure, which resulted from a 4 million Ghana Cedi debt, has led to the unfortunate deaths of 19 outpatients of the renal unit.
In his statement on the floor of Parliament, Akandoh emphasized the need for the government to provide an update on the measures taken to reopen the facility, seeking a resolution to this critical issue.