Elderly care facility struggles with rising healthcare costs
Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi, MPs, and Mapeera Bakateyamba Home officials at the facility in Rubaga Division on October 1, 2024. PHOTO | SHABIBAH NAKIRIGYA
What you need to know:
- The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, who attended the event, called on the government to support elderly homes like Mapeera Bakateyamba, emphasising the critical need for healthcare services for older persons.
Mapeera Bakateyamba Home in Rubaga Division is struggling to pay medical bills for the elderly under its care, an official has revealed.
Speaking during celebrations to mark International Day of the Elderly at the home yesterday, the head of administration, Ms Lawrence Nakiwu, disclosed that due to a lack of funding, the home is struggling to clear accumulated healthcare bills totalling Shs10 million.
“We normally take our patients to Rubaga Hospital at a discounted rate, but the bills keep piling up every month because we don’t have a stable source of income to cover them,” she said.
Ms Nakiwu added that healthcare remains the biggest challenge at Mapeera Bakateyamba Home as elderly individuals develop medical complications frequently, requiring immediate attention.
“Due to the accumulated bills, we hesitate to take them to the hospital and instead provide in-house care, which is risky given the severity of some conditions,” she explained. She further pointed out that some illnesses are related to poor nutrition.
“Older persons need special diets to boost their immunity, but we often lack the funds to provide the necessary food,” she said.
The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, who attended the event, called on the government to support elderly homes like Mapeera Bakateyamba, emphasising the critical need for healthcare services for older persons.
“The government should support such initiatives because they are saving lives, especially those of vulnerable elderly persons,” he said.
Mr Ssenyonyi also stressed the importance of addressing corruption to free up funds for such causes.
"We lose over Shs10 trillion annually to corruption, according to the Inspector General of Government (IGG). If we tackle corruption, we could redirect those funds to cater to basic needs and save lives,” he said.
He further urged the government to reconsider increasing the monthly Senior Citizens Grant for Empowerment (SAGE) from Shs25,000, stating that it is insufficient given the current economic climate.
“The elderly receive this money quarterly, which is unfair because it’s already too little, and they are forced to wait three months, delaying the purchase of essential items,” he noted.
Mr Ssenyonyi added:“We need to ensure that all elderly persons across the country are supported, beyond just having five parliamentary representatives.”
The Shadow Minister for Gender, Labour, and Social Development, Ms Fortunate Nantongo, called for the lowering of the SAGE eligibility age from 80 to 65 to include more elderly individuals.
“More elderly persons should benefit from government assistance, as many spent their youth contributing to this country,” she said.
She also urged the government to streamline payments to ensure timely disbursement and consider increasing the SAGE grant.
“A family cannot survive on Shs25,000 a month, and with beneficiaries having to wait three months for payments, many suffer unnecessarily,” Ms. Nantongo said.
