Private hospitals told not to treat Covid-19 patients
Managing. Medical staff wearing protective gear at Mulago hospital where Coronavirus patients are treated. Government has banned private hospitals from treating Covid-19 patients. PHOTO BY KELVIN ATUHAIRE
What you need to know:
- Reason. According to the leaders of the private health facilities, they are contributing ideas in finding ways to treat the virus.
- Dr Denis Kimalyo, the chairperson of Uganda Association of Private Hospitals, said government only engaged them early on when cases started being reported but that they have since been sidelined.
Government has banned private hospitals from treating Covid-19 patients as steps to centralise treatment at all regional referral hospitals across the country continue.
Ms Grace Ssali Kiwanuka, the executive director of Uganda Healthcare Federation, the body that brings together private players in the health sector, said it is absurd that government has sidelined private health facilities in the Covid-19 response.
“Most of the talk is about public health facilities and yet the largest number of Ugandans seek medical care from private facilities. We have professionals in the private health facilities that can do the work (test and treat Covid-19),” Ms Kiwanuka told Daily Monitor last week on Sunday in an interview.
According to Ms Kiwanuka, thousands of returnees who have not been found must be hiding in private health facilities for medical care and basic treatment.
The federation boss appealed to government to consider designating other private health facilities for Covid-19 treatment.
“Private health facilities are still contributing in a number of ways to curb the pandemic. We are helping in the surveillance for the disease. If we get a suspected case, we call and refer them to government hospitals,” Ms Kiwanuka said.
Dr Denis Kimalyo, the chairperson of Uganda Association of Private Hospitals, said government only engaged them early on when cases started being reported but that they have since been sidelined.
“Some of our health workers were trained on case management in the initial stages but it stopped. We should be involved in the Covid-19 response including funding support. If we can strike a balance of offering the service it would be good, we are all here to offer the (health) service,” he said.
Dr Richard Idro, the president of Uganda Medical Association, however, said it would be disastrous to scatter Covid-19 patients in all the existing health facilities.
“It will scare people from going to health units and if the disease leaks out there, it will infect many people. You need to balance the idea of opening many places against risk of spreading the disease,” he said.
Dr Idro said the facilities that are designated and new ones being opened in regional referral hospitals across the country are enough to serve the population.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH REACTION
False confidence. Dr Henry Mwebesa, the director general of health services, when asked about the interest of private health facilities to be designated and offered support to start treating Covid-19 patients, said:
“That is theory. They do not know the reality. The day they admit the first case, their hospitals will become empty and they will call me to take my patient away.”
“We saw it in Entebbe hospital. There is not a single general patient at the facility since our first Covid-19 patient. Even hotels where we quarantined travellers, they ran out of regular guests,” added the director general.
