KATHMANDU, Nov 1: The Teku-based Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Diseases Hospital has made public the costs of treatment of COVID-19 patients.
The government had recently announced not to bear the treatment expenses of the COVID-19 patients except the people meeting certain criteria. Earlier, the government-set COVID-19 Special Hospitals were providing treatment for free of cost.
The hospital’s Director Dr Sagar Rajbhandari said that the hospital fixed the charges for the treatment of the COVID-19 patients after the government refused to provide a budget for the same. “Earlier, the government had been providing us the necessary fund to treat the infected ones. So, we were providing treatment to the COVID-19 patients free of cost.”
The government recently decided to bear the cost of treatment and PCR testing of frontline workers including differently-abled, single women, senior citizens, security personnel and sanitization workers.
Dr Rajbhandari shared that the hospital will be charging Rs 15,000 for a day for treatment in the ICU room with a ventilator facility. The patient or his family needs to deposit Rs 50,000 for such treatment. Likewise, the patient has to pay Rs 7,500 per person to avail the ventilator facility.
Likewise, Dr Rajbhandari said that the COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms need to pay Rs 7,500 per day for treatment in an isolation facility while the patient with mild symptoms but in critical condition would be treated at Gastro Isolation for Rs 3,500 per day, according to the hospital.
It is required to deposit Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 in advance for the treatment of each COVID-19 patient based on the severity of their ailment.
Patients from poor families and senior citizens, the helpless and the patients with severe disability and single women, are exempted 10 percent to 100 percent of the treatment cost based on the written agreement between chief consultant and director of the hospital, relevancy and the economic condition of the patient.
Dr Rajbhandari however urged the ministry to review its decision on the treatment charge for COVID-19 patients. The hospital has been providing free treatment to the infected people since the very beginning.
(RSS)