State ‘promise’ under scrutiny
GOVERNMENT’S promise to subsidise kidney dialysis for patients from lowincome families has come under scrutiny from the National Federation Party which claims it has failed to fulfil its promise.
Party leader Prof Biman Prasad claimed kidney patients from families with combined annual income of less than $20,000 in the Western, Central and Eastern divisions were being denied subsidised dialysis, with the only exception being the Northern Division.
THE Government has failed to fulfil its promise to subsidise kidney dialysis of patients from low income families in three divisions as announced in its budget last year, claims the National Federation Party.
Party leader Professor Biman Prasad claims kidney patients from families with combined annual income of less than $20,000 in the Western, Central and Eastern divisions are being denied subsidised dialysis, with the only exception being the Northern Division.
Prof Prasad claimed that the party had also established that the only nephrologist in the country resigned as a consultant and the head of the Nephrology Department at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital because of frustrating delays in the construction of the kidney specialist centre in Tamavua.
“Kidney patients from families with a combined income of less than $20,000 should have been eligible to have dialysis three times a week at a subsidised cost of $75 per session because Government had announced last year they would now reduce the cost of dialysis from as high as $250 per session,” he claimed.
“Instead Government would provide dialysis at a cost of $150 at its hospitals and the new kidney centre but would subsidise treatment for patients from families with combined annual income of less than $20,000 per annum.
“We have established that dialysis is being done at a cost of $150 per session at Labasa Hospital only and patients in the North from families with incomes of less than $20,000 are being provided subsidised dialysis at a cost of $75 per session.
“This means that patients from poor families in the Western, Central and Eastern divisions are paying between $200 and $250 per session for dialysis to stay alive.” Prof Prasad said this was unacceptable. “Earlier this year, the Health Minister told Parliament in response to a query from NFP parliamentarian Lenora Qereqeretabua that a dialysis centre would open soon at Nadera. But this hasn’t happened.
“Similarly, Government is silent on how it intends to provide subsidised dialysis to patients in the Western and Eastern divisions.
“Likewise, there is no word on why the completion of construction and equipping of the kidney centre at Tamavua is long overdue.
“We are being inundated with pleas of help from relatives of patients with low incomes who go around trying to raise funds for their expensive treatment.
“We have been reliably told that health professionals forced to use their salaries to fund treatment for emergency cases.
“All Government does is to issue permits for fundraising for dialysis instead of providing facilities for subsidised dialysis.
“This leads us to seriously question whether Government’s announcement in its budget last year was an election gimmick following NFP’s announcement in July 2017 of providing free dialysis to all patients from families with less than $30,000 annual income.
“We made this pledge following Government’s repeated rejection of our motions to get it to increase budgetary allocation for dialysis from a meager $300,000 to at least $3 million.”
Questions sent to Minister for Health Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete via email on Thursday followed by another email and a followup phone call yesterday were unsuccessful.
However at 6pm yesterday, Dr Waqainabete said his team was working on a response. No response was received when this edition went to press last night.