New medical aid package launched
BELVEDERE Medical Centre has introduced a new medical aid package — Save life Medical Aid Fund — aimed at providing quality and affordable services to patients.
According to BMC, this package and any other services they offer at their hospitals are paid for using all forms of payment recognised in Zimbabwe.
Save life Medical Aid was established to provide a range of innovative health care options to corporates, schools and members of communities without formal medical cover.
The new medical aid package starts from $4 up to $100.
In interview on Friday, Belvedere Medical Centre chief executive Dr Simbarashe Makuni, said Save life Medical Aid Fund was founded in 2016.
“Save Life Medical Aid was started in 2016 because we wanted to save life. We realised that a lot of people wanted good quality medical service but at the end of the day the challenge is affordability.
“Save life then comes in to ensure that everyone is catered for because we now have affordable packages that start from $4 up to $100.
“It’s really meant to ensure that everyone can afford quality medical services countrywide,” he said.
Dr Makuni said with this medical aid, they won’t be any challenges such as shortfalls and co-payments and that they were also offering funeral package services.
“As medical practitioners our business is to save lives so we do not turn away patients and as BMC, we have kept our doors open. Even other medical aids we accept.
“Patients can pay in any currency, Ecocash, swipe and whatever they have,” he said.
He said they also had the BMC laboratory that enables rapid and accurate biochemical tests to be performed.
These biochemical tests enable rapid diagnosis and early detection of illness. This in turn leads to early treatment.
This comes after the Harare City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding between Belvedere Medical Centre and the City Health Department for the setting up of a medical tourism facility specialising in organ transplants and other advanced medical procedures in April this year.
The MoU also entailed the completion of Wilkins Hospital wards.
“Council notes that the envisaged project will assist by providing health care services that are currently not available in the country and would promote medical tourism.
“The committee noted that the Belvedere Medical Centre has shown interest in developing the site into a centre of medical excellence capable of performing advanced surgical and medical procedures that are currently not available in the country like organ transplants, cardiac catheterisation and other tertiary services,” said the City Council.
African Century expressed interest in funding the project.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care supported to the project and when fully functional it would be used in promoting medical tourism to earn the country foreign currency.
The city council had been looking for partners and was keen on various funding models including partnerships, built operate and transfer (BOTs), rental and lease among others.
The project was marketed through the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, council’s website and the city health department’s project prospectus.