By Jimmy Muhumuza,
Parliament.
The minister of health Jane Ruth Acheng has defended the high covid19 treatment charges by private hospitals noting that the cost is not so different from that of the public hospitals, especially in Mulago hospital.
It should be noted that yesterday members of the parliamentary task force on covid 19 grilled the private hospitals for charging 3 million shillings daily to treat a covid19 patients which the MPs said was very expensive.
The minister revealed this while appearing before the parliamentary covid19 task force chaired by Bugweri county MP Abdul Katuntu and noted that in Mulago hospital the cost of managing a covid19 patient takes 3 million shillings a day.
She further told the committee that their worries as the ministry and government are that most of the private hospitals’ costs of treating covid19 patients go unnoticed but they are the same in the public hospitals.
Minister Jane Ruth Acheng also revealed to the committee that even though all the regional referral hospitals have got ICU beds most of them are not functional due to a lack of critical care staff because the country has not invested much in training ICU care critical nurses.
Minister has also revealed that they are expecting a donation of 286000 dosages of AstraZeneca Vaccine coming from Kovacic facility and they are expecting it to be delivered this month and that they are also expecting a donation of Astra Zeneca 688000 dosages from the same facility which is expected to be delivered in Uganda in August and that they will be receiving are other donations.
Good