The ministry of health-MOH has reacted to reports concerning high costs for transportation in patients using ambulances.
Uganda currently has only 116 government-run ambulances operating across the country.
Following the second wave of covid 19, several patients require ambulances to transfer them from suburbs to referral hospitals to access treatment.
However, the majority of Ugandans say they cannot access or even afford to use ambulances because of the high costs associated with transporting COVID-19 patients.
But the MOH says it’s impossible to make the prices flexible enough to suit the local man.
Dr. John Baptist Wanyiaye, the commissioner in charge of Emergency Services in the Health Ministry says although the government does not charge for the services it spends a lot of money to transport patients around Kampala.
He explains that money is spent on buying fuel, paying risk allowances, procuring personal protective equipment, refilling oxygen cylinders and emergency medicines used in the ambulance.
He however says that the government spends Shillings 200,000 to transport COVID-19 patients within Kampala and it is impossible to operate an ambulance service without spending money.
He says on the open market, it costs Shillings 360,000 to transport a COVID-19 patient within Kampala.
In other parts of the country, private service providers such as City Ambulances charge as much as Shillings 2.6million to transport a patient from Kampala to Arua.
Dr. Wanyiaye says government will have to invest in procuring over 200 ambulances to extend services to all Ugandans.
