Renal patients at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital have announced their planned picketing at the Renal Unit on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, to express their displeasure at the authorities' failure to clear essential consumables stuck at the port.

Patients will not receive essential medical care for three weeks because of the unit's forced closure due to a continuing scarcity of essential supplies.

Mustapha Salifu, the public relations officer at Korle Bu, clarified that the scarcity was the reason for the shutdown but gave the assurance that steps are being taken to clear the consumables and start-up outpatient dialysis treatments again.

But Kojo Baffour Ahenkora, a spokesman for the Renal Patients Association, voiced displeasure, charging that the government is not acting quickly enough to address the issue at hand, which he claims is seriously endangering patients' lives.

Mr. Ahenkorah emphasized the financial strain placed on patients, who must spend GH¢800 for private dialysis sessions—a sum that many are unable to pay, a report by citinewsroom.com said.

In order to speed the delivery of the necessary supplies from Tema Harbour, the patients are requesting that the government—in particular, the Minister of Finance and the head of the GRA—take prompt action. They've promised to stay at the hospital and stage picketing until their demands are fulfilled.

"It's very expensive, very expensive. This morning, 800 Ghana cedis for a session. Most of us are supposed to do it twice or three times a week. Where are we going to get the money from? It's only the government sector or Korle Bu that makes 400 cedis, which is not even cheap, almost close to 500 in a session."

"Please, Dr. Okoe Boye. Minister of Finance and then GRA boss, we beg them. The consumables are in the country, which is why they were able to release the 20-footer container, which also contains part of the consumables that we need.

"But the main one that we need at the cabin where we are standing right now is the one at the port, so we beg them. Whatever the case, we beg them. If not, then by Wednesday, we are picketing here.

"All the Renal Dialysis patients are coming to sleep here until we receive the consumables from Tema Port because we cannot keep on going through this thing."

KA

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