A campaign to raise money to build a haemodialysis center for the region has been launched by management and staff at the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga in collaboration with stakeholders.
The Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) previously provided haemodialysis services to the Hospital, which is the primary referral center for the Region and also receives cases from parts of Burkina Faso’s Upper West and North East Regions.
Mr. Ayamga Ayariga, a Critical Care Nurse at the Hospital, proposed the establishment of the Center, which Dr. Emmanuel Akatibo, a Physician Specialist, championed.
The Regional Minister, Mr. Stephen Yakubu, stated, “We have chosen for ourselves to raise funds towards the establishment of a 24-hour state-of-the-art Haemodialysis Centre to provide service for clients in the Region,” which is estimated to cost approximately GH800,000.
He said that even though getting the Center in the Region was a big challenge, it would be an “Opportunity for us to stop being victims of circumstance” if it was accomplished.
“It is an opportunity for us as stakeholders in the Region to ensure that haemodialysis services are provided to individuals with renal conditions, which have for some time now become more prevalent than ever.”
Mr. Yakubu stated, “It is unacceptable that we still have to travel to TTH and other tertiary health facilities outside the Region for dialysis in today’s modern Ghana.” This is extremely unbearable, preventable, and utterly unjust.
He made the observation that the Region’s lack of certain medical equipment for managing health conditions had, over time, resulted in the deaths of a number of people and hampered the progress and development of both individuals and communities.
The Minister thanked Mr. Ayariga and Dr. Akatibo for having a “sense of initiative” and thanked the Hospital’s management for backing the idea.
He committed GH500.00 to the project and instructed each of the 15 Municipalities and District Assemblies to contribute GH500.00 as seed capital to the fund. Additionally, a number of organizations and individuals contributed a variety of GH500.00 to the fund at the start.
The hospital’s medical director, Dr. Aiden Suntaa Saanwie, said, “It is the responsibility of the kidneys to get rid of all the toxins produced in the body.” The kidneys were one of the major excretory organs in the body.
“These poisonous substances collect in the body assuming that the kidneys neglect to dispose of it, it brings about wounds to other ordinary cells, and at last lead to bleakness and mortality on the off chance that nothing is finished about it,” he said.
He stated, “But in the very advanced stage, there are two current ways of handling it, either by renal transplant or renal dialysis.” He added that kidneys could be managed conservatively in the event that they failed.
Ghana offers transplants, but they are prohibitively expensive and difficult to obtain. The Medical Director stated, “So we are left with the option of dialysis, which is also equally expensive, but if you compare the two devils, you will take the dialysis.”
He stated that the Hospital could establish the dialysis center with the support of stakeholders in the region in order to provide services without requiring patients to travel to Tamale on a daily basis.
Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebegtang, who presided over the event and is the Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area, stated that the Region was far from the nation’s capital and frequently received little or no benefit from projects centered at the national level.
Therefore, as a people, we must act independently. While we are demanding, we must demonstrate our seriousness by doing certain things ourselves. The Chief declared, “We as Chiefs will not halt in our course to request from the government what we believe is due us.”
source: newsghana.com.gh
