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Hospital
fees skyrocket
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
April 25, 2006
http://www1.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=2451&cat=1&livedate=4/25/2006
From $300 in
consultation fees in the casualty departments, central hospitals
will, with immediate effect, charge $1 million while provincial
and general hospitals would charge $800 000.
District and
mission hospitals, on the other hand, will now charge $400 000.
Public hospitals had for a long time been failing to provide quality
services and facilities owing to poor financial resources and largely
because the $300 they charged was no longer practical.
Very few people
can lay their hands on a $100 note these days as mostly higher denominations
are now being used.
Consultation
fees in the outpatients departments at central hospitals are now
pegged at $760 000 while children will pay $380 000.
When admitted
in the Intensive Care Unit, one can now expect to pay $8,5 million
a day while maternity fees will start from $1,3 million per day.
In theatre,
people can now expect to pay $105 000 per minute.
Because municipal
clinics were charging relatively higher rates than hospitals, most
people were now taking such minor ailments as colds and headaches
to hospitals, putting a strain on the facilities there.
Deputy Minister
of Health and Child Welfare Dr Edwin Muguti said the Government
had revised the fees and charges to improve on service delivery.
"We also want
to improve efficiency through rational use of services.
"I am sure
you are aware that the referral chain has been under threat because
of the small amounts that our hospitals have been charging," he
said.
"These increases
should lead to a decongestion of casualty departments in our hospitals,
leaving specialised personnel to deal with emergency cases only.
"Because people
will be paying for the services they get, they will develop a sense
of ownership for the hospitals.
"When people
are not paying, they tend to abuse facilities but when they pay,
hopefully they will become more responsible," Dr Muguti said.
To ensure everyone
had access to health care, certain groups of people would be exempted
from paying.
These include
those suffering from tuberculosis, leprosy, those aged 65 and above,
those in need of HIV and Aids drugs, those requiring primary immunisation
at rural health centres, among others.
People who are
not on medical aid and those who cannot afford will be exempted
from paying.
The Government,
Dr Muguti said, would levy a penalty of $150 000 on capable people
who try to cheat to access free treatment.
Some people
however, described the latest round of increases in hospital fees
as a kick in the face of ordinary Zimbabweans who were already battling
to cope with escalating costs of other services and basic commodities.
"We are now
between a hard place and a rock. Things have not been good since
the start of the year and we surely do not know how we are going
to survive," said a Harare woman who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Her sentiments
were also echoed by many other interviewees who said the increases
would force them to consult traditional and faith healers in the
event of an illness.
School fees,
prices of most basic commodities and supplies, rentals as well as
the general cost of living has been going up over the past few months
while incomes remained stagnant.
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