By Jimmy Muhumuza,
Parliament.
Private hospitals in Kampala have defended the exorbitant charges they charge COVID-19 patients saying that the cost of treating Covid-19 is high.
They revealed this while appearing before the parliament’s task force on COVID-19 chaired by the Bugweri county mp Abdul Katuntu.
The president of the Uganda health care Federation Grace Kiwanuka says that unlike before, they require to test health workers involved in treating COVID-19 regularly, buy PPES Which are expensive among others expenses.
Kiwanuka also says that their monthly utility bills have increased saying on average they used to spend 9m shillings on water but since they started treating COVID 19, on average they spend 13m while on electricity the cost has increased from 45m to 57m.
Kiwanuka says that the hospitals have resolved to give patients daily billing so that they know where they stand and to have agreements with patients on payment plans.
Kiwanuka has also attributed the high costs to the misuse of antibiotics which he says has resulted in their bodies getting resistant to affordable drugs and hospitals now have to use expensive drugs to treat them.
