Over 200 children can't afford heart surgery
Over 200 children suffering from various heart conditions in the country are yet to raise money to enable them to be put on the waiting list for surgeries at the National Cardiothoracic Centre (NCC) at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
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The cost of a heart surgery for children at the NCC currently ranges from $1,500 (GH¢6,750) to $12,000 (GH¢54,000), depending on the type and case.
The above cost is after the 50 per cent partial sponsorship that the Ghana Heart Foundation (GHF) offers to patients has been deducted from the total cost of surgery.
A Cardiothoracic surgeon at the NCC, Dr Innocent
Kwashie Adzamli, who disclosed this in an interview, explained that once parents of the affected children raised the money, their children would be put on the waiting list usually within a three-month period for the surgery.
However, he said when the child’s condition needs urgent attention, and the parents are able to raise the needed amount, the child would jump the queue and have the surgery immediately.
Dr Adzamli lamented that very often, most parents found it difficult to raise the money for the treatment of their children and that had been one of the reasons for the delays in performing heart surgeries for children.
He, therefore, appealed that children with heart problems should be included in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to
relieve parents of the burden of raising extra money for the treatment of their children.
He also appealed to the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Protection and other public spirited organisations to sponsor at least 100 children with heart problems annually to undergo surgery.
He said even though a number of institutions continued to make donations to the Ghana Heart Foundation, the money raised was still not enough to cater for all the children who needed to undergo surgery.
Currently, he said about 200 patients (children and adults) with various heart conditions benefitted annually from the partial sponsorship from the Ghana Heart Foundation.
As to why children with heart problems were made to join a queue, Dr Adzamli explained that the NCC did not have enough space at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for children requiring surgery to be kept and monitored.
“At the moment, we have only four beds in the ICU so we cannot do many surgeries in a week. In addition, we do not have ICU doctors who would look after patients in the ICU soon after surgery. As a result, the Centre has to manage with the aging anaesthetic team available, ” he added.
Founded in 1989, the Ghana Heart Foundation is an organisation that saves lives and improves on the health of patients through informing the public on diseases of the heart.
It also assist people with other cardiovascular diseases, funds cardiovascular research and offers training to health workers involved in cardiovascular care.
