Korle-Bu temporarily shuts down Renal Unit

The Renal Unit at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has been temporarily closed for maintenance, a source familiar with the situation at the facility told this reporter.

The closure follows an incident involving an 80-year-old kidney patient, Victor Sormenah who experienced a prolonged wait for his dialysis session, only to be informed of operational challenges within the unit.

Mr. Sormenah, accompanied by his wife expressed concern over the situation as hospital authorities cited a shortage of essential supplies necessary for treatment as the reason for the closure.

His wife highlighted the difficulties faced, noting that her husband's health deteriorates quickly without timely dialysis, causing swelling and frequent vomiting.

“They called us an hour later and informed us not to come because they’ve got an emergency. And this is not the only place we come for my husband’s treatment and we go for another session at TU. So on our way, we stopped here to check why they said we shouldn’t come and they told us they’ve got some small problem, which is why, they are short of the items they use so we continued to the other place,” she disclosed.

“They said we should wait till Monday and I don’t know what will happen because if he doesn’t get the dialysis, he gets swollen. We don’t know any other place they can do the dialysis,” she added.

The National Health Insurance Authority announced a free dialysis treatment for patients 18 years and below and those above 60 years.

The six months programme which began in June 2024 will provide some free treatments for patients between the ages of 19 and 59.