Kabale Hospital on spot for allegedly selling covid-19 testing kits to private clinics

Residents in Kabale district have complained about the exorbitant Covid-19 testing fees being charged by private clinics in Kabale town.

The residents say that private clinics are charging between 50,000 to 100,000 shillings for one to take a Covid-19 test. They also wonder where these private clinics have secured government testing kits which are supposed to be a preserve of government Health facilities.

In Kabale district, testing of Covid-19 is publicly known to be done at Kabale Regional Referral hospital, Rugarama and Rushoroza hospitals and Health Center IVs.

However, a Health worker at Kabale Regional Referral told our reporter on condition of anonymity that he suspects that a deal to have these testing kits smuggled to private clinics is always brockered at the level of laboratory managers, since they are the ones who sign for all drugs from hospital stores.

However, the Kabale Regional Referral hospital Director Sophie Namasopo said that she is not aware that there are any Covid-19 testing kits from the hospital which are being sold to private clinics in a dubious way. She promised to investigate the matter.

The Acting Kabale Health Officer Alfred Besigensi said that he does not have information that private clinics in Kabale town are testing for Covid-19 and where they are getting the kits from. He also said that government health clinics do not share government Covid-19 testing kits with private facilities.

However, when our reporter contacted the senior communications officer in the Ministry of Health Emmanuel Ainebyoona, he said that those private clinics which are charging fees for testing Covid-19 should be investigated to find out where they get those Covid-19 Rapid Diagnostic Testing kits which are currently only being distributed by National Medical Store free of charge. He added that only private health facilities accredited by the government are allowed to do the Covid-19 testing.