Patients seeking medical care at the newly commissioned Mulago Specialized Women & Neonatal Hospital will part with a 50,000 Shillings fee to access a doctor. While several private hospitals charge the same amount, several Ugandans had expected it to be lesser at the government hospital.
The health minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng told the press on Wednesday, that the hospital will also demand a referral letter for cases coming in as it has been designed to handle complicated cases that have failed at Health centres 3 and 4.
According to Dr. Aceng, patients are also encouraged to carry National Identification cards to enjoy discounts that will only be a luxury for Ugandans. Foreigners will be charged a different fee.
The hospital was handed over to government last week after completion. It was officially opened two days ago, and has so far received 72 patients. Ugandans are currently being treated free of charge at the facility until the Independence Day October 9th. This serves as a gift to the citizenry, the minister Aceng says.
“Patients will pay UGX50,000 for consultation not the prices that were being shown in the news yesterday. Those are the comparative rates instead. You will be required of a service letter to be attended to at the hospital. However, there are services that will be exclusive to the hospital. Those won’t require referral letters” the minister explained.
She added that Shs13m will also be paid by patients seeking In-vitro fertilization (IVF).
According to the minister, doctors need to be paid, so services at the hospital cannot be free. “Uganda largely operates as a cash economy. We expect foreigners to pay. We can no longer depend on the Government budget to provide services. The doctors at the hospital will also want payment. If you need high quality services. You must pay!” she said.
Patients in the VIP and VIIP rooms will be charged extra fees as their rooms will have fully installed DSTV to keep them informed on what is happening around the world. The facility was constructed at a tune of Shs94.5b loan from the Islamic Development Bank and has 450 beds.
Several jobs have also been created and the minister says recruitment will begin as soon as possible so that Ugandans can receive services at the hospital. The minister revealed that 41 billion Shillings is needed to operationalize it.
The fees structure is as follows;
In patients will pay UGX 80,000 per day, and UGX 100,000 for nurses’ and doctors’ care, Consultation fee is UGX 50,000 per visit, Antenatal Package- (Max 8 Visits)-(includes (490,000) baseline lab tests, 13D/4D & 2 ordinary ultra sounds, essential drugs for antenatal and immunization will be offered at UGX 890,000.