Prime
Govt criticism of private hospitals is diversionary
Kaboggoza Kibudde
What you need to know:
- ‘‘We, the poor, should channel our anger to government, not the private sector”
It was government, through political posturing, that gave the public the false impression that healthcare is cheap, let alone free. It was also government that halted cost-sharing mechanisms, which served to cushion public hospitals against government’s delayed and insufficient funding.
Elsewhere, the same government has overseen broad day robbery of funds meant to improve our public health sector. With a perverted sense of reward and punishment, it punishes good apples or fails to protect them from bad ones.
Then, it rewards bad apples or shields them from punishment. Consequently, public service is infested with impunity, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness.
When Covid-19 struck in November 2019, Uganda had a grace period of at least four months to put its affairs in order. However, we failed to do so and also abused the goodwill of Ugandans who donated money, labour, or material resources to the national Covid-19 effort. Afterward, we had an extra year between the first and second wave, but we slept on the job again.
Now, instead of looking within to correct its deficiencies, government is stretching its neck to giraffe-like levels looking for scapegoats. One of the trending villains now is private health facilities, which government accuses of charging exorbitant fees. To be clear, those fees are not exorbitant for excellent healthcare costs money!
By attacking private facilities, the government is merely avoiding questions whose answers would embarrass it. For instance, why do many Ugandans, even those who can’t afford it, insist on going to certain private facilities first? Why are they not keen on going to free public health facilities? Honest answers to those questions will reveal government inadequacies, some of which have little to do with having a small economy and more to do with mismanagement.
In his latest address, the President lamented to us (the powerless) how some officials had failed to execute his instructions to increase Uganda’s hospital bed capacity. There was no mention of repercussions for said officials, and we can reasonably deduce there will be none. It begs the question – what are we, the powerless, supposed to do about those officials? It is the President who hires them (repeatedly), and it’s him with the power to correct or punish them.
Yet, instead of heads rolling, we have another day of national prayer. One wonders, is government so helpless that all we can do is pray? And what exactly are we supposed to pray for – a more effective/efficient government? Self-discipline to diligently wear masks, practice hand hygiene and avoid congregations? Or should we pray for posho and beans to fall from heaven? The truth is the recent national day of prayer and demonisation of the private sector are diversions.
The goal of private health facilities is to make profits; therefore, not all of us will afford them. For affordable healthcare, we should consider national health insurance or try our luck at facilities subsidised by government or donor aid.
If we find ourselves needing private healthcare when we are still poor, let us fundraise. The point is, private healthcare (just like private education) is for the few who can afford it - not all of us.
We, the poor, should channel our anger to government, not the private sector. It’s government, which owes us affordable healthcare.
So, rather than pester private providers about prices, let us pester government about the state of public health facilities. Then, for private hospitals, let’s demand adherence to the law and professional standards of practice as we struggle to improve our incomes.
Mr Kibudde is a socio-political thinker
[email protected] Twitter: @kkaboggoza
