At least seven mothers have made claims that Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital (MSWNH) has detained them and their newborns due to unpaid medical bills. The hospital was authorized by the government in 2018 to charge patients, while also offering waivers to those who cannot afford the bills, which should be approximately 60 percent of what private healthcare facilities charge.
Specifically, two mothers, Ms. Lydia Namisango and Ms. Carol Nakabira, informed this publication on Tuesday that they have been in detention since October 11. The hospital’s management, however, has denied these allegations.
When a local news paper visited the hospital on Tuesday, it was discovered that the medical bill for Ms. Namisango amounted to Shs1.3 million, while Ms. Nakabira’s bill was Shs1.377 million, both for C-sections. The hospital had reduced Ms. Nakabira’s bill to Shs247,500.
Information from the facility indicates that the charges for giving birth at the hospital vary from Shs200,000 for a normal birth to more than Shs2 million, depending on the complications involved.
Mr. Mathia Wasswa, Ms. Namisango’s husband, stated that his wife was being held at the hospital due to their inability to pay the Shs1.3 million bill. They arrived at the hospital on October 3, and his wife underwent a C-section. After four days, when they were discharged, they were unable to leave because of the unpaid bill.
Dr. Emmanuel Byaruhanga, the executive director of Kawempe Hospital, couldn’t comment on the matter at the time but requested a meeting with the reporter.
Mr. Felix Kayihura, the client relations officer at MSWNH, asserted that no mothers were detained by the hospital and stated that both Ms. Namisango and Ms. Nakabira had been discharged. He also mentioned that they have a waiver system where a committee determines waivers on a weekly basis.
Ms. Jane Namaganda, a program officer at the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), a civil society organization, has written to the hospital management, cautioning that the healthcare facility is not an officially designated detention center.
