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The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Dr Yakubu Seidu Adam, has urged Ghanaians with renal and sickle cell (SC) diseases to take advantage of the government’s free dialysis and SC care to seek proper treatment for their conditions.
He said persons with kidney and sickle cell conditions needed to present only their national health insurance cards to access the free treatment services.
Stopping short of disclosing the exact period the free dialysis treatment began at the hospital, Dr Adam said the “treatment comes at no cost at all”.
“As we sit now, I can confidently confirm that patients need to come to our facility with only their national health insurance cards, and they can access dialysis treatment at no cost at all,” he said.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament yesterday to respond to some infractions made against the KBTH in the 2024 Auditor-General’s report, Dr Adam said the free treatment started after the hospital had ended the pilot phase of free renal treatment in the latter part of 2024, when the government gave the hospital money to treat kidney patients for free.
He made the statement after the Chairperson of the committee, Abena Osei-Asare, asked him to tell the committee about the current state of Ghana’s premier hospital, and to also throw light on the treatment of renal and sickle cell conditions, which were being covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The government, through the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), launched the free dialysis treatment programme for renal diseases on December 1, 2024.
Mrs Osei-Asare, who had ceded her chairmanship to the Ranking Member, Samuel Atta-Mills, said many kidney patients had claimed that accessing free dialysis care at KBTH was not “what is happening on the ground”.
“Respectfully, when you have those kinds of ailments, and you cannot get care, and you do not have anybody helping you with it, it is difficult,” she said.
The Atiwa East Member of Parliament (MP) consequently asked Dr Adam and his team to explain the process required for kidney patients to access free dialysis treatment.
The CEO of KBTH acknowledged that accessing free dialysis care “is difficult, but we are giving the service for free”.
“But once you come and you have a card of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and show your national health insurance card and you have gone through the process, we give you the treatment for free, and you do not pay anything at all,” Dr Adam said.
The CEO added that the hospital was also making frantic efforts to make sure that the majority of its patients were taken out of dialysis treatment.
He said management of the hospital was currently working to have a policy on organ transplantation to address renal diseases.
“This year, we have operated on about six patients, and God being on our side, most were successful but we are not ending there.
“We are still going forward to ensure that it becomes widespread to ensure that we give service to our people at a time they need it most,” he said.
Dr Adam said steps were being taken to have a law backing organ transplant in Ghana, giving further assurance that a bill would be put before Parliament soon for that purpose.
