The management of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi is urgently appealing to the Ministry of Health for assistance to support its overburdened Dialysis Unit.
This appeal follows a significant increase in demand for dialysis treatment after the government announced that certain aspects of the treatment would be covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Speaking on Abusua FM in Kumasi, Kwame Frimpong, the Public Relations Director of KATH, revealed that the hospital is currently handling dialysis cases with only seven machines.
“When the government introduced the free dialysis treatment policy under the NHIS, we were among the first hospitals to implement it. We procured three new dialysis machines at a cost of 1.6 million Ghana Cedis and repaired two existing machines, bringing our total to seven,” he explained.
Despite these efforts, the hospital has been inundated with patients seeking dialysis treatment around the clock. To manage this overwhelming demand, KATH is working to secure six additional machines using internal funds.
“While the Ghana Airport Company Limited has pledged to donate two new machines, and Sprinfold has already donated one and promised three more, we are still reaching out to various organizations and individuals for help.
Ideally, it should not be our responsibility as a hospital to purchase equipment for patient treatment; our internally generated funds (IGF) are intended for procuring drugs and other consumables,” Frimpong noted.
He added that these substantial investments have strained the hospital’s day-to-day operations, but the situation leaves them with little choice.
“We urge the government to equip our dialysis unit adequately, as they are doing for other facilities, to help us manage the overwhelming demand in Kumasi. This support is crucial to ensure the success of the government’s healthcare policy,” Frimpong emphasized.
He further pointed out that while other hospitals have received government-funded dialysis machines, many have not yet started offering free dialysis treatment. “At Komfo Anokye, we can’t afford to delay these treatments because, in many cases, patients have no other options within the southern sector of the country,” he said.
Source: Kumasimail.com
