By The Insight Post – Uganda
Mukono-Uganda
Betty Olive Namisango Kamya, the Inspector General of Government (IGG), has initiated a probe into the allegations of patient extortion at Mukono General Hospital.
The investigation is entirely targeting Dr. Godfrey Kasirye, the Medical Superintendent, Moses Bwogi, the Hospital Administrator and Sr. Alex Namala, the Principal Nursing Officer, among others.
Allegations have been made that they illegally requested payments from patients in return for medical services that are supposed to be provided without charge. Several patients recently came forward with various complaints of having been extorted by doctors at the hospital.
According to the patients, some doctors demanded money for medical services that were supposed to be free, while others forced them to pay extra fees for medications and other supplies which are not acceptable.
Kamya emphasizes the need to eliminate corrupt individuals within the government who have continued receiving their salaries on time.
The IGG has further pledged to thoroughly investigate the matter and bring any culprits to book, noting that such corrupt practices undermine the quality of healthcare services and deny vulnerable patients access to the medical care they need.
“The public is urged to step forward with any information that might be pertinent in the ongoing investigation,” Kamya appeals.
It is during a courtesy visit to the facility, Tuesday, that the IGG discovered that managers were demanding payment from patients prior to their surgeries.
Multiple sources have disclosed that the doctors at the facility request patients to pay between Ugshs100,000 to Ugshs300,000 for major surgeries and Ugshs400,000 to Ugshs1,000,000 for a Caesarean section.
Hospital records indicate 8,000 deliveries happened last year (2022), out of which 1,600 were C-sections.
Affected Patients
According to Sonia Natukwera, a caretaker of an expectant mother, she was told to pay Ugshs450,000 for a Caesarean section but did not receive a receipt for the payment.
Initially, she had reportedly been asked to raise Ugshs600,000 for the operation of her patient but she managed to negotiate it down to Ugshs450,000.
“When I asked for a receipt, the individual who collected the payment at the ‘Surgeon’s Office’ informed me that I could only receive one if I paid the entire sum upfront,” she recounts.
Patricia Atukunda, another affected caretaker, paid the Ugshs480,000 only to be informed later that her expectant sister would deliver normally despite the medical form indicating that she would undergo a Caesarean section.
According to Atukunda, he felt let down by the fact that, despite paying a substantial amount of money to the unscrupulous hospital staff, they were compelled to buy extra medication from the private pharmacy located in the wing.
“We are totally inconvenienced by this situation. It would be beneficial if the government established an official and consistent fee for Caesarean sections, allowing us to pay and receive receipts for the services rendered.
Sharon Kisakye paid UGX 280,000 for a doctor to perform surgery on her sister, who had suffered a miscarriage. As it was a matter of life and death, they had to quickly obtain a loan from a moneylender to cover the cost of the doctor.
According to our reporter’s findings, individuals seeking surgery at the facility are required to make payments at a designated office known as the “Surgeon Office,” where a full-time attendant named Christine Nalujja is responsible for collecting the fees.
Accused Respond
The Medical Superintendent (Kasirye) argues that only individuals who utilize the private wing are required to pay a fair fee.
However, the patients and caregivers disregarded this statement, claiming that they seek medical attention at the hospital for free as taxpayers, but are then subjected to excessive charges for services rendered outside of the private wing.
Consequently, the Inspector General of Government (IGG) directed Shillah Apolot, who heads the Mukono Regional Office of the Inspectorate of Government, to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and provide conclusive results.
Apolot was also instructed to determine the process by which the “Surgeon’s Office” was established at the hospital and how a full-time staff member was deployed to collect fees from the patients who are entitled to free services.
In addition, Apolot was tasked with examining the operations of the private wing, as it is possible that it is being improperly utilized to confuse the delivery of services at the hospital.
Private Wing Guidelines
The Ministry of Health’s guidelines for managing private wings of health facilities in the country mandate that the management of any private wing be treated as a business enterprise, with distinct transactions and the identification of resources exchanged between the enterprise and the rest of the hospital.
Furthermore, the private wing does not have a standardized pricing policy, and currently, the cost of medications is established by pharmacists who also act as cashiers.
The guidelines advocate for hospitals to inform patients about the cost of each service they receive to avoid confusion in the end.
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