Member of Parliament for Bulawayo East Ilos Nyoni has implored the Ministry of Health and Child Care to ensure that elderly citizens acquire free medical attention at public health institutions as per the provision of the Constitution.
Speaking recently in Parliament, Nyoni highlighted that in Bulawayo there are cases where the elderly do not acquire medical assistance free of charge.
The legislator noted that most hospitals are ill-equipped when it comes to scans and x-rays so elderly citizens would have to pay for these services at private institutions.
Nyoni suggested that in such cases, the government must take responsibility for paying for those who would have gone to private institutions for services that are not available at public hospitals.
“It is Government policy that senior citizens of our country – those who are 65 years and above receive free medical attention at our major hospitals such as Parirenyatwa, UBH and others. In reality, this is not happening,” he said.
“It is actually a theory on paper. When they get there, they do not pay consultation fees. When they get attention from a doctor, there will be instances where they are required to undergo scans and X-rays. The equipment in most instances is not functioning and they are referred to private players to get the scans and X-rays. The issue here is that the payment is done by themselves. Why is it not that the Government goes ahead and pay those private players since the equipment at the public hospitals are not working?”
He further explained that in Bulawayo there was a case of an elderly woman who could not get medical assistance for her eyes because of lack of funds.
“Recently we had a case where a 90-year-old lady needed an eye operation because her eyes were not seeing properly. She was asked to pay US$100 per eye. Only US$100 was realized, the operation was only done on one eye, and this was done at a government hospital. Then the issue of free treatment of senior citizens does not appear to be a reality. My prayer is for the Minister of Health to bring clarity on whether this thing is a reality. If not, if it can be brought into effect,” he said.
