By Evans Worlanyo Ameamu, GNA
Keta (VR), Oct. 8, GNA – Togbi Tenge Dzokoto Gligui VII, the Dufia of Anyako and the Paramount Chief of Amugo-Vego Traditional Area in the Volta Region, has donated some consumables to support care at the dialysis unit of the Keta Municipal hospital.
The items worth millions of cedis included boxes of hemodialysis Sodium Bicarbonate cartridges, AV Set fistula needles, polyethersulfone hollow fiber hemodialyzer, extracorporeal circulation conductor and other blood purification apparatus, to enable doctors deliver quality healthcare.
Mama Tenge Dzokoto Gligui, the wife of the Chief, who led a team to represent the items on behalf of Togbi Dzokoto Gligui, said the gesture was to demonstrate giving back to society for quality healthcare delivery.
“Togbi is pleased with how progressive and impressive the dialysis unit he established here is changing and giving life back to patients, and he is happy and ready to do more to improve the work of the hospital,” she said.
Mama Dzokoto Gligui said other objective of the dialysis unit was to provide accessible and affordable service to patients with renal failure in Southern Volta and its surroundings, as well as reduce morbidity and mortality associated with acute kidney injury and end-stage renal diseases.
She explained that renal disease remained a significant public concerned in Ghana and across West Africa and with limited access to dialysis service in many regions, and in response to alleviate and help curb the challenges, Togbi Dzokoto Gligui spearheaded the establishment of the unit to serve many in the region and beyond.
“The unit was officially inaugurated on August 15, 2024, and since then, information received so far indicates that it has become a critical healthcare facility, which extends its services to patients from other regions and our neighbouring Togo.”
She applauded the hospital administration and health workers for their efforts in keeping the unit running a 24-hours healthcare delivery service and urged all dialysis patients to patronise the centre for healthy life.
Dr Ofori-Dwumfour, the Special Advisor to Togbi Dzokoto Gligui and Vice President of the Gate Council, and Mama Napo (Elikplim Djokoto) the Special Assistance to Togbi, who also witnessed the ceremony, expressed their excitement about the progress and achievement of the unit and urged the public to make use of the centre to help mitigate their health challenges.
Alhaji Faruk Iddrissu, the Administrator of the hospital, who received the items on behalf of the facility, thanked Togbi Dzokoto Gligui, for the kind gesture which continued to impact positively on patients and pledged to utilise the items for their intended purposes to achieve the targeted goals.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) gathered that the Togbi Tenge Dzokoto Gligui VII Dialysis Unit had also helped in promoting early diagnosis and intervention through community outreach and referral system from other regions.
The dialysis unit was fully equipped by Togbi Dzokoto Gligui, with three dialysis machines such as Fresenius 2008k, Freseniu 2008K2, and Freseniu 2008H with capacity for simultaneous session and three bed (1 adjustable) and a dialysis chair.
The unit also has five distilled water assess ports with three connected to dialysis machines, with the others used for purposes such as bicarbonate preparation, and one reversed osmosis room with two 5000L storage tank for water treatment and storage purposes.
The facility had also enabled the training of health personnel including five nephrology nurses, a medical officer from the Ho Teaching Hospital based on an existing Memorandum of Understanding, a Dietician and a Mental health expect, with technical maintenance team comprising of an engineer, estate officer and others including R&T logistics with strict structured disinfection and servicing schedules.
The unit conducted over 700 dialysis sessions within the period and attended to patients from Keta, Sogakope, Anloga, Akatsi, Aflao, Ho, Accra and cross border patients from Togo, with patients between the ages of 20 and 75 years, with a male predominance represented 55.5 per cent.
Some patients who interacted with the GNA expressed their joy over the operations of the unit saying it had reduced their travel burdens, increased awareness creation, and strengthened local capacity.
They thanked Togbi Tenge Dzokoto Gligui for the good work and continuous support towards the maintenance cost of the dialysis machines till 2026.
They appealed to other individuals, philanthropists, corporate institutions and the government to help the one-year-old dialysis unit to solve other pressing challenges, which included supply chain issues, limited machine capacity, staff constraints, client financial constraints, and uninterrupted power supply.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/ Christabel Addo