Parliament’s Health Committee condemns closure of Korle-Bu’s renal unit
The Health Committee of Parliament has condemned the closure of the Renal Unit at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, a decision that has led to the tragic deaths of three kidney-related patients.
The unit was shut down almost two weeks ago without an official explanation, forcing kidney disease patients to seek health care at private facilities.
The President of the Kidney Patients Association, Baffour Ahenkorah, attributed the deaths directly to the closure of the unit.
The situation has sparked outrage among patients and their families.
Speaking in an interview, a member of the Health Committee and Member of Parliament for Central Tongu, Alexander Roosevelt, expressed disappointment over the lives put at risk due to the closure of the facility.
He recalled that the National Health Insurance Authority had recently requested 2 million cedis to support kidney patients under 18 years and above 60 years and had even announced the release of an additional 2 million cedis to settle the bills of renal patients at Korle-Bu Hospital.
He, therefore, wondered why the country’s premier hospital would shut its renal unit despite the intervention.
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“The National Insurance Authority appeared before our committee requesting an amount of 2 million cedis for payment of the bills of under 18 and above 60 people who have these conditions. And they also came out boldly a few months or weeks ago, emphasising that they had released an amount of 2 million Ghana cedis and there was going to be an additional amount of 2 million that would be given to the Korle Bu hospital to settle the bills of people with renal cases.
“I am just surprised that I’m being told that the setup has been closed down mainly because they do not have medical supplies.”
“I am just surprised. So does this mean that what the National Health Insurance Authority was telling us was just fiction? Does it mean that they were not telling us the truth? While the presidential candidate of the NPP continues going on, promising heaven.
“Is this where Ghana has reached? It’s a very serious situation. It’s something that one cannot fathom and I can understand. How can we joke with the health of our own people?”