Prime
Govt directs Masaka hospital to waive CT scan fees
Mr David Kasadha, a radiographer at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, inspects the new CT scan donated to the facility on May 20. PHOTO | RICHARD KYANJO
What you need to know:
- Dr Atwine said in extreme cases, patients from impoverished families should access CT scan services free of charge.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health ,Dr Diana Atwine has directed the management of Masaka Regional Referral Hospital to give a waiver to patients seeking Computerized Axial Tomography Scan (CT scan) services at the facility.
Last October, the government donated a CT scan machine to the hospital, the first of its kind at the facility and it became operational in June 2023.
However, to access CT scan services patients are required to pay money.
For example, a patient that requires a scan for the brain plain scan pays Shs120,000, brain contrasted scan (Shs150,000), chest contrasted scan (Shs200,000) and abdominal contrasted scan (Shs200,000).
Dr Atwine said in extreme cases, patients from impoverished families should access CT scan services free of charge.
“The rates for CT scan are already subsidised, but there are situations where a patient may not afford those standard fees, the hospital board of governors should sit and consider such cases by giving such patients a waiver. If they [hospital board] also assess that a patient cannot afford paying any money, the person should get the service for free,” Dr Atwine made the pronouncement while commissioning the state-of- the -art digital X- ray machine, CT Scan at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital on Tuesday.
At the same function, the Korean Foundation for International Health Care (KOFIH) handed over two ambulances to Ntuusi Health Centre IV in Sembabule District and Butambala Health Centre IV in Butambala District, in addition to construction of a surgical ward, theatre and maternity ward at Butenga Health Centre IV in Bukomansimbi District.
The six vehicles the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) donated to various districts and Ministry of Health on September 12, 2023 PHOTO | MALIK FAHAD JJINGO
KOFIH further donated medical kits to Village Health Teams (VHTs), two double cabin pick-up trucks to districts of Masaka, Bukomansimbi and two were given to the Ministry of Health, in a bid to strengthen community health services.
The permanent secretary’s response followed a public outcry that patients seeking X-ray and CT scan services were being charged exorbitant fees at a public facility where services are presumably free of charge.
“The public and leaders should appreciate that some services like CT scan world over are not free of charge and when you compare the fees they charge here and in other private facilities the amount is quite high because of its costly to maintain such machines and even running it alone since it requires a lot of electricity but, this does not mean that those that can’t afford to pay should be turned away, they should be given a waiver, but of course this should not be misused because in such cases the government will still be paying for them,” she added.
Dr Atwine applauded the Republic of Korea for the continued support to the Ugandan government through different programmes ranging from emergency medical services in Masaka and Bukomansimbi, the TB project, training of health workers, VHTS and medical supplies and ambulances among other donations, which she said has tremendously helped improve health service delivery in the countryside.
The deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Uganda ,Ms Jung-Eun Lee, said that the donation is a reflection of their commitment to support health service delivery in the country.
“KOFIH will continue to reach out to people of Uganda through the Ministry of Health to support various projects aimed at improving health service delivery,” she said.
