Source: newsthemegh.com
Dialysis patients in Ghana are in a terrible situation because they have to skip treatments that could save their lives because of a sharp rise in prices.
Many patients are now in desperate situations because the treatment is financially unaffordable for them due to the price increase from GHC380 to GHC491.
Dialysis is a life-saving therapy for those suffering from renal failure. When the kidneys are unable to eliminate waste materials and extra fluid from the blood, it takes over.
Nevertheless, many Ghanaians cannot afford the expensive procedure.
Concerns regarding the price hike have been voiced by a few patients at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital who depend on dialysis care.
“I skipped my session as a result of the price increase. I can’t eat although I am hungry, and it is affecting me a lot because I don’t want to be too heavy,” Mintah revealed, according to the news website.
“Now you are even afraid to drink water or eat because you don’t know where you are going to get money for the dialysis.” someone else stated.
Kojo Bafour Ahenkora, president of the Dialysis Patients Association, regretted that the increase could have been delayed until the National Health Insurance Scheme’s attempts to incorporate the expenses of dialysis therapy were completed.
“If Parliament did this, we beg them to revisit the issues and do something about it,” he pleaded with the authorities to reevaluate their decision.