The management of new Mulago women hospital and government are not yet off the hook as members of the public and a series of politicians continue to criticize the high amounts of fees levied on different services offered at the hospital.
According to the fees structure, patients will part with UGX 50,000 as consultation fee, UGX 890,000 for antenatal, UGX 800,000 for normal delivery and UGX 2,000,000 for a C-section.
So far at some of the big private hospitals, normal delivery is 450,000 and c-section between 600,000-1,000,000 Shillings. This means that one is better off at a cheaper private hospital with equally good services than an expensive public hospital in the guise of helping small income earners.
Enock Kusasira the Mulago PRO says not everyone will be treated at the fancy mulago neonatal hospital, but rather those in need of specialized treatment. He confirms that for one to be accepted at the hospital, they must have a referral letter from a specialist sitting at one of the regional referral hospitals.
The 450 bed facility offers comprehensive super specialized services to women that are currently not available in any other public hospitals. The facility also has an expensive state of the art VIP section.
Many a people have wondered how government came up with such exaggerated fees especially in a country where the citizenry cannot even afford paracetamol to cure a headache.
However, Kusasira insists their services are cheaper than private hospitals and that the facility is here to make healthcare cheaper.
“Ugandans have been going outside to look for specialized care, but we have brought the services here and want to tap into that. What is primary is availing people with services, it doesn’t matter if you have the money or not. This is a public facility where we have cost sharing, we have different levels and one can choose according to their pocket, for those who can’t afford, they will be worked on” Kusasira said.
He also revealed that measure will be put in place to ensure that Ugandans who cannot afford the fees are worked on, arguing that the facility is not just for the rich, as the prices are affordable for those who can afford.
On Monday, opposition forum for democratic change deputy secretary general Harold Kaija incite the public to press their MPs against accepting these fees. At this stage however, it is unclear if Parliament can change a thing.
