Patients with kidney disease now have to pay more to remove extra fluid and waste products from their blood at the Korlebu Teaching Hospital.
This situation surfaced after a post that made rounds on social media showed an increment in the cost of dialysis at the facility in Accra.
The Hospital has confirmed to JoyNews that it decided to increase the cost from GH¢380 to GH¢765.
KBTH’s Public Relations Officer, Mustapha Salifu explained that this increment is brought about as a result of the high taxes on consumables and import duties.
He further told JoyNews that, “The increase is to meet the running cost of the facility. There are a number of items that go into determining the price of it. If we do the real analysis of the cost, you get to about GH¢ 850, but because of certain considerations, that is why we are proposing this GH¢ 765 .42 at the moment.”
Mr Salifu also disclosed that government used to give the hospital some exemption on taxes and hence the initial price for the cost of the treatment, GH¢380.
He, however, stated that last year it came to the realisation of the institution that they were no longer entitled to those exemptions.
Mr Salifu emphasised that since the hospital needs to mobilise money to enable them to provide the services that the unit offers, they then came to the decision to increase the prices.
According to Mr Salifu, since the hospital has to raise money to enable them to provide the services offered at the unit, they decided to increase the cost of dialysis.
He clarified that the motive behind the increase in the price of the treatment is not to make a profit but rather to support and enable the hospital to provide quality services to their patients.
Additionally, Mr Salifu indicated that there is little that the hospital can do about the situation, highlighting if the cost of the treatment is not increased, “in the next couple of weeks or several days down the line, we’ll have to shut down the unit.”
The increase may be replicated in other regional hospitals citing increase in prices of consumables.
However, checks with JoyNews have revealed that management of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is not in a hurry to increase the cost of dialysis treatment despite the high cost of consumables and other components.
According to reports, management is yet to officially discuss and plan on increasing the fees of the treatment.
Expensive dialysis treatment was highlighted at the just-ended #OccupyJulorbiHouse demonstration, where an angry protestor lamented the loss of the life of a 24-year-old patient as a result of the inability to afford treatment costs.
The announcement about the abrupt increase has left some worried as they indicated that they were already struggling to afford the previous cost.
Some patients fear the new cost will exacerbate their situation.
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