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ICU services: Jinja leaders oppose Shs200,000 charge
Jinja hospital director, Dr Edward Nkurunziza. File photo
What you need to know:
- Concern. Whereas the hospital insists that the fee is necessary for maintenance of the facility, the leaders want the money reduced to accommodate the locals who they say are too poor to afford such high charges.
- The Jinja Municipal Council Speaker, Mr Moses Bizitu, said basing on health service provisions and accessibility, Ugandans cannot afford a daily charge of Shs200,000 for the ICU facility.
Leaders in Jinja District dismissed as wrong and unacceptable the Shs200,000 to be charged on patients seeking treatment at the referral hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The leaders’ response was provoked by remarks by the Jinja hospital director, Dr Edward Nkurunziza, last Thursday to the effect that for a patient to receive ICU services at the facility, he or she will be required to part with Shs200,000 upon admission and for each day in ICU.
He said: “There are no free services of ICU in hospitals and I think government this time is not ready or lacks money to provide such [free] services to patients. Like any other hospital, patients have to pay for such services.”
Dr Nkurunziza added that the hospital administration intends to charge each patient recommended for ICU services Shs200,000 upon admission and daily, while other bills will follow later, depending on the treatment the patient had received.
Dr Nkurunziza said the fee (Shs200,000) will be for maintenance of the department and equipment.
However, Butembe County Member of Parliament Nelson Lufafa, in a telephone interview on Monday, said it is wrong and unacceptable for a government facility that is meant to serve citizens free-of-charge to levy Shs200,000 for ICU services.
“Our people are poor; where do you expect them to get that kind of money? This being a regional referral hospital, I will mobilise all concerned MPs so that we fight this greedy policy to a logical end,” Mr Lufafa said.
He added that where need be, it will be a matter of Parliament to summon those behind this wrong policy at the expense of Ugandans.
Call for reduction of charges
The Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Eric Sakwa, described the charge as high for an ordinary citizen, saying it should be reduced to Shs50,000 “especially for those in Busoga Sub-region who have low incomes.”
“I am uncomfortable with Shs200,000 because the facility is meant to serve the locals, especially low income earners. It was against this background that the facility was constructed,” Mr Sakwa said.
Mr Sakwa added that much as the fee is for maintenance, it is very high and needs to be discussed with the relevant stakeholders.
The Jinja Municipal Council Speaker, Mr Moses Bizitu, said basing on health service provisions and accessibility, Ugandans cannot afford a daily charge of Shs200,000 for the ICU facility.
“Only 5 per cent of Ugandans can meet that charge. This means people are going to die. Let it be revised to Shs10,000 so that a patient is sure of paying at the end,” Mr Bizitu said.
