Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has commissioned an expanded dialysis unit at the Upper West Regional Hospital in Wa.
In partnership with the non-governmental organisation Sustainable Health Education and Interventions Limited (SHEILD), the Speaker of Parliament provided six brand-new dialysis machines and modern dialysis recliners in a major intervention aimed at improving access to life-saving kidney care and reducing preventable deaths in northern Ghana.
The project was undertaken with support from the Upper West Parliamentary Caucus and other entities to ease the burden on patients who previously had to travel long distances to Kumasi, Tamale or Accra to access dialysis treatment.
The initiative is expected to significantly enhance renal healthcare delivery in the Upper West Region and neighbouring parts of northern Ghana by expanding treatment capacity and improving access to specialised kidney care.
Addressing guests at the commissioning ceremony, Speaker Bagbin recounted his own near-death health experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining how he had to be airlifted to Dubai for a critical medical procedure because the required PET scan technology was unavailable anywhere in West Africa.
The experience, he said, strengthened his determination to champion equitable access to specialised healthcare services across Ghana.
“Healthcare is not a privilege reserved for those who live close to our major cities or to power; it is a fundamental right that belongs equally to every Ghanaian regardless of where they live,” Speaker Bagbin stated.
The Speaker also encouraged communities to establish a family health insurance fund, through which residents could make small, regular contributions to support members who may require expensive treatments such as dialysis.
Board Director of SHEILD, Dr. Sylvia Anie, said the project originated from a request made by the Speaker during a board meeting nearly two years ago for the organisation to extend its life-saving renal interventions to the Upper West Region.
She described the Speaker as personally committed to ensuring the successful execution of the project, recalling his frequent follow-up calls throughout the planning, procurement and installation stages.
“If I was to tell you the number of calls the Right Honorable made to us at midnight, at 11:30 and whenever he calls, he always sounds alert. And then at midnight, we always sound tired! But then we are able to plan," Dr. Anie said amid laughter from the audience.
She also appealed to Ghanaians to prioritise preventive healthcare by seeking prompt medical attention whenever they experience symptoms such as blood in urine or sputum instead of delaying treatment until complications develop.
Growing demand
The Acting Medical Director of the Upper West Regional Hospital, Dr. Philip K.K. Baabiineh, said the expansion marks a major milestone in addressing the growing burden of chronic kidney disease in the region.
He disclosed that before dialysis services were introduced at the hospital in 2022, patients who could not afford treatment outside the region had virtually no access to life-saving renal care.
"We had to provide services with only three machines, one of which had to be dedicated to patients with infectious conditions," Dr. Baabiineh explained.
Despite those constraints, he said, the hospital's renal team successfully carried out 4,916 dialysis sessions for 268 patients, demonstrating both the increasing demand for the service and the dedication of staff.
Kidney disease burden
The Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Josephat Nyuzaghl, described chronic kidney disease as an increasing public health challenge, noting that it affects an estimated one in every seven to one in five patients who seek healthcare nationally.
"Ghana as a whole operates with only about four dialysis machines for every one million people," Dr. Nyuzaghl stated.
He explained that the addition of six new dialysis machines would substantially improve service delivery while reducing pressure on existing equipment, which had been operating almost continuously to meet patient demand.
Boost for medical training
Chairman of the ceremony and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS), Professor Emmanuel Kanchebe Derbile, said the expanded dialysis facility would also strengthen medical education and specialist training.
He noted that the enhanced renal unit would support the practical training of future doctors and other health professionals as the university prepares to operationalise its School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Power supply challenge
Despite celebrating the achievement, health officials expressed concern about the hospital's unstable electricity supply, warning that frequent power fluctuations threaten sophisticated medical equipment.
Dr. Baabiineh appealed for the installation of a dedicated electricity transmission line to protect the newly installed dialysis machines and ensure uninterrupted renal services.
Dr. Nyuzaghl added that erratic power supply had already contributed to the breakdown of the hospital's oxygen generation plant, forcing management to transport medical oxygen weekly from the Upper East Region.
He expressed optimism that addressing the power challenge would position the Upper West Regional Hospital as a leading centre for nephrology services in northern Ghana.
Nicholas Amartey Sampah, West Africa Regional Manager of Galata Global Medical Resource Ltd, supplier of the dialysis machines, recliners, and assorted consumables, also donated consumables worth GHS20,000 to help the hospital.
