HUGE OPERATIONAL COSTS IMPERIL ST FRANCIS OPERATIONS

St Francis was the only referral hospital in the country operating on a charity basis despite spending colossal sums of money to sustain operations at the hospital.

ST FRANCIS Mission Hospital in Katete risks closing its doors to the public should it continue operating on a charity basis, medical superintendent, Lalick Banda has warned.

Dr Banda said as a result the hospital had introduced user fees to sustain operations. He said the operational costs of the hospital, one of the largest and most visited medical referral medical facilities, were way above its financial capacity, prompting the hospital to introduce user fees on services. The user fees on all the services are effective April 26, 2019 though patients below the age of 5 year and people above 65 years will be exempted from paying the fees. Dr. Banda told the Daily Nation in an interview in Katete that he made extensive consultations with several stakeholders, partners supporting the health facility and government before resolving to share costs with patients to sustain operations. He said St Francis was the only referral hospital in the country operating on a charity basis despite spending colossal sums of money to sustain operations at the hospital. “We did not start as a Level 2 status, but we have grown with time as a result we are forced to introduce user fees for us to reduce on the money we are spending in ensuring that the facility remains operational,” said Dr. Banda. He said the hospital, which conducts over 6 000 surgical operations could not operate without water and electricity among other essentials to help meet the basic minimum environmental standards. “The hospital spends not less that K5 000 to transport patients for further referral to University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka per trip forcing the facility to limp in providing services to other patients.