The shortage of pediatric dialysis machines and consumables running has tragically led to the loss of 15 children at the Tamale Teaching Hospital since 2015.
The lack of these essential medical supplies over the months has forced healthcare workers to improvise with adult machines, putting the lives of vulnerable patients at extreme risk.
Adam Yahaya Wanzam, the Nurse Manager of the Tamale Teaching Hospital Dialysis Unit, in an interview with Citi News, issued a desperate plea for assistance, urging the government, individuals, and non-governmental organizations to step forward and provide the life-saving equipment and supplies that are urgently needed.
“We have lost over 10 to 15 children who were supposed to receive dialysis,” Wanzam lamented. “But for a lack of pediatric machines, we were improvising with the adult machines, and the adult machines and consumables are not for children. The deaths rate recorded dates back since 2015 to 2023.”
Wanzam added that the consequences of this shortage are devastating, not only for the children who have lost their lives but also for their families who must endure the unimaginable pain.
“We are calling on individuals and Non-governmental organisations to come to our aid by helping us acquire these pediatric machines and consumables so that when an innocent child finds him/herself in this situation, the Tamale Teaching Hospital Dialysis unit can be able to rescue them.”
Content by: Akosua Bonto