Dialysis patients who are recipients of Government-subsidised treatment at the St Augustine Medical Hospital have been assured that their health will not suffer as a result of lack of funds.
Senior officials of the Ministry of Health yesterday sought to comfort persons who had received letters from the institution that they would be responsible for ensuring their dialysis bill was paid in full as of February 1.
Ministry officials confirmed monies had been approved and released early last week— estimating that it would have been accessible by last week Friday.
As such, they urged patients being treated at that hospital “to ignore” the letters.
Dialysis patients who are not registered with the External Patient Programme (EPP), Ministry of Health – have to foot their own dialysis bills which can range from $1,200 upwards, per session.
Those approved by the ministry are treated to a substantial savings cost as government funding covers three-quarters of the overall costs of the sessions.
It was just over one month ago that patients registered for government-funded dialysis sessions at the St. Clair Medical Centre encountered a similar situation as the hospital accused the ministry of failing to settle outstanding bills.
At the time, officials explained that the ongoing economic downturn had led to cash-flow problems but assured that as soon as funding became available, all private hospitals providing this type of service would receive payments.
