New adult and children consultation fees have been pegged
at US$12 and US$6, respectively, which are an equivalent of $3 696 and $1 848
in the local currency using the official exchange of US$1:$308.
Hospital fees were last increased in January 2020, with
adults and children respectively paying $200 and $100 in Zimbabwe dollars at
the time.
“Reference is made to the hospital user fees circular dated
April 19, and the Exchange Control Exclusive Use of Zimbabwe dollar for
Domestic Transactions Amendment Regulations, 2020 no 3 (Statutory Instrument
185 of 2020).
“Following the release convergence of the Exchange Control
Directive No 3 of 2022, in line with the convergence of the auction exchange
rates and the interbank willing-buyer willing-seller exchange rate, you are
being advised to implement user fees in line with the current interbank
exchange rates,” Health and Child Care ministry secretary Jasper Chimedza wrote
in a memo dated June 1, 2022.
Chimedza was not reachable for comment last night.
The memo was addressed to provincial medical directors,
medical superintendents and public hospital chief executive officers.
Following the directive, consultation fees for adults are
now at US$12 and children US$6. Ward fees for adults are set at US$12, and US$8
for children.
“Ambulance fees per kilometre US$1,60. Intensive/coronary
care unit per day — adults now at $US16. Intensive/coronary care unit per day —
children now at $US10. Consultation fee is valid for seven days and chronic
consultation fees are valid for one month,” a notice to the public hospitals
read.
The notice says patients may pay the new fees at the
interbank rate, which currently stands at $325 to US$1.
Patients were paying almost half in user fees before the
latest increase.
The new user fee hike will hit most Zimbabweans, who have
been forced to turn to public hospitals as the pricing at private health
facilities is beyond the reach of many.
However, public hospitals have been failing to provide
quality services owing to years of underfunding.
Analysts said the increase in user fees would worsen the
plight of patients battling to access health care due to prohibitive costs.
Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Enock Dongo said many
people would die at home because they could not afford the fees.
“This is too expensive for civil servants and other
ordinary citizens. This will lead to many people dying at home. People will die
unnoticed, and people will die with conditions that can be saved if they manage
to go to the hospital. It’s an unfortunate scenario,” he said.
Plagued by a scarcity of drugs, dilapidated medical
equipment and persistent strikes over poor remuneration by health sector
professionals, the public healthcare system is on the verge of collapse.
Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) executive director
Itai Rusike said the new hospital fees barred access to equitable health care
services for the majority of ordinary citizens.
“The CWGH is concerned that the new hospital fees will
increase the barriers to use of services and inevitably bar access to equitable
healthcare services by the majority of poor people that depend on the public
healthcare system. These user fees are not affordable to many, defeating the
point of having the right to health in the Constitution,” Rusike said.
“We understand that the hospitals are facing severe cash
constraints. However we are concerned that the situation at present is one in
which the public is not being adequately informed on what exactly to expect at
hospitals and thus cannot adequately budget and plan for their visits to these
services,” he added.
The public health sector faces funding shortfalls as
Zimbabwe has over the years failed to meet the Abuja Declaration on health
spending, which calls for 15% budget allocation to the sector.
0 comments:
Post a Comment