Dialysis patient | File photo
For eight years, Baffour Ahenkora don dey live wit kidney disease for Accra, Ghana.
During dis time, im dey go for dialysis for di Korlebu teaching hospital three times a week.
Dialysis be treatment wey dey clean di blood sabi say di kidneys no fit do am sake of dem get wahala.
Di procedure don dey remove waste and extra fluids for di blood.
But for a long time, Baffour say im no dey fit afford di three sessions of dialysis a week.
Instead of three sessions, im dey do two, sometimes just once at a cost of $32 (GHC 380).
“I don sell all my properties sake of I dey search money take pay for dialysis,” Baffour tok BBC News pidgin.
E tok say sometimes even wetin im go eat sef be wahala because all im money go into payment for dialysis.
Baffour explain to BBC News pidgin say “I just dey death roll, sake of I know say I go die”.
Im den oda kidney disease patients for di kontri im biggest referral hospital, Korlebu don dey cry over di cost of dia treatment.
Baffour tok say im know fourteen patients wey don die since May dis year sake of dem no fit continue dia dialysis.
Na so di hospital im latest notice say dem wan increase di cost of di procedure from $32 (GHC 380) per session to $66 (GHC 765) dey give dem sleepless nights.
Baffour say if dem go ahead wit di increase, many more pipo go die, wey im serf e go die.
“Sometimes di nurses for Korlebu dey fit give we food, some dey give we transport fares if we go for dialysis sake of all our moni finish.”
Korlebu renal unit dey see plenty patients
Di renal unit for di hospital wey dey exist since 1923 dey currently treat more dan two hundred kidney disease patients.
Di facility also dey do kidney transplant.
In 2019, di hospital do transplantation for four patients wit kidney failure.
Di hospital do another set of two transplants in July wia dem do anoda three in August.
Baffour Ahenkora say di dialysis and oda procedures for Korlebu be top notch.
Im also say dem get at least fifteen dialysis machines wia dem dey use for patients.
On average, di hospital dey see two hundred kidney disease patients, pipo from across di kontri.
Why di hospital dey increase cost of dibalysis
Afta di public backlash wey greet di hospital im notice for increment, tok tok pesin come explain why dem dey increase di amount.
Musthapha Salifu explain say di previous amount be so, sake of goment dey take up some of di cost.
But now di hospital dey pay import duties on dia consumables and oda related charges.
“If we still wan run di place on di previous charge of $32 (GHC 380) we no fit sustain am, we for just shut down di place,” Musthapha tok.
Im add say cost of di kits dem dey import from Europe go up.
“Na so we do di calculation we see say we for charge $74 (GHC 850) per session sabi say we go factor in all di costs.”
“But we consider di patients wey we for cushion dem small dat be why we dey propose $66 (GHC 765),” Musthapha explain.
Wit di proposed increase in di cost of dialysis, “we all just go die. Make dem give we poison make we die,” Baffour tok as e dey try control im emotions.
Many oda patients don dey complain.
One leading member for di health committee of parliament for di kontri don tok say wetin di hospital dey do be illegal.
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh tok say di “Korlebu teaching hospital no fit set dia own fees and charges without say dem go get parliamentary approval.”
Dem be public institution wia dem for come parliament wit dia proposed charges, if we approve am, den dem fit charge.
“As we speak, dem no take any proposal come di subsidiary legislation committee”.
Im add say di facility for focus on “providing quality healthcare to Ghanaians instead say dem to make profits”.
Korlebu respond to backlash
For days now, di hospital don dey chop criticisms afta di announcement of di increase in cost of di dialysis.
On social media pipo dey tok say di facility don dey fail dia patients.
Already patients dey cut dia treatment sessions from three per week, to once a week.
Some pipo like Baffour Ahenkora now dey do one session every two weeks, even dat, e for borrow moni before im go afford.
One statement wia di hospital release on 27 September tok say dem go seek parliamentary approval before dey go increase di charge.
Di statement tok say “di hospital management dey appreciate di challenge wey renal dialysis patients dey face.”
“We go collaborate wit stakeholders and philanthropists so say we go fit subsidize dialysis reagents and services for patients.”
Until say parliament go approve di proposed increase, “we go charge di old price of $32 (GHC 380) for our patients.”
Di ranking member for parliament health committee don direct say make di hospital refund all dia patients wey dem charge di new ‘illegal fees’ wit immediate effect.
Oda kidney disease patients dey cry out
For di central region of Ghana, many patients dey lose dia lives.
Di cost of dialysis per session for di cape coast teaching hospital be $30 (GHC 350).
Thomas Cann, a kidney disease patient don dey live wit di condition for ten years now.
E tok BBC News pidgin say “na by Grace of God I take dey survive all dis years.”
Thomas dey go for dialysis sessions three times in one week.
“Since den don diagnose me ten years ago, I know at least fifty pesin wey die sake of dem no fit afford cost of dialysis.”
“Di cost dey kill pipo pass di disease itself,” Thomas tok.
Pipo dia condition dey become worse, odas dey go di hospital as and when dem get moni for di dialysis.
Di average session dey take four hours, so Thomas dey spend eight hours for di cape coast teaching hospital anytime e go for dialysis.
E for go early at dawn to form a queue so say e fit do am early, because patients dey travel from di western region to cape coast for treatment.
Di facility get only five functional dialysis machines wey dey cater for hundreds of patients.
Thomas tok BBC news pidgin say among di patients be young children, some of dem, eight, nine years.
Weytin for happun
Di kidney disease patients for many years don dey advocate say make goment absorb some of di costs of dia treatment for di health insurance package.
“Even if goment no go fit do anything at all, dem for fit factor our drugs in di health insurance,” Thomas tok.
“Many of di accredited insurance facilities no get our medication so we for go search oda places den pay for dem for private pharmacies.”
Thomas don get network of kidney disease patients wey dem dey serve as support system.
For some of di new patients, dem no dey want accept di fact say dem get di disease.
Many of dem don dey live in denial.
At some point, Thomas serf wan end im life, but e manage get psychological help.
Na so e take di experience dey encourage oda patients say make dem no give up.
“I don psych myself so all these years I dey manage am, I dey try tok to oda patients also.”
Thomas, Baffour den oda patients say dem want make goment see di matter as a national crisis.
Di goment for take bold steps to cushion pipo wey dey live wit terminal diseases like edey happun for Europe.
“We dey need policy direction for those of us wit kidney disease. No be we all go fit afford $50k, $60k for transplant.”
If di state no take di matter seriously, na so many more pipo go dey die.
One nephrologist wit di komfo anokye teaching hospital for Kumasi don dey worry say one out of three patients wey dey battle wit kidney failure dey die.
Dr Elliot Tannor tok say di cost of dialysis dey make pipo dey die.
“Many patients no dey fit afford di existing cost sake of dem for pay from dia pocket wey ibi expensive.”
E tok say for di komfo anokye hospital im patients dey skip some of dia sessions.
Na so im want make goment take up some of di cost.
“Even if e mean say goment go absorb half of di cost of dialysis, e go make many of di patients live longer,” Dr. Tannor tok.
Im tok say, “ibi really sad say people dey die on daily basis.”
For now, Thomas, Baffour den di oda patients dey hope say something go change, otherwise dem just go dey wait when dem too go die!
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