Following the public uproar on the highly inflated prices for treating covid-19 patients, and the urgent need for the Ministry of Health to reign in on some private hospitals that had not only chosen to make this a money making venture extorting anything that looks like an ailing patient with a mask, but also went ahead to sadly withhold the Cadavers (Dead bodies) of the aggrieved relatives.
With most of them taking to social media and any media outlet that can put the message across for anybody in authority to come and save them this predicament,
The High Court has issued orders to the Uganda Medical & Dental Practitioners Council (UMDPC) to make recommendations to the Ministry of Health (MOH) on a reasonable fee chargeable by private hospitals for the management of Covid-19 patients.
As posted by Counsel Silver Kayondo on his routinely legal alerts on his twitter handle @SilverKayondo
This is not the first time high court has made such orders to the Executive arm of government, it is only 10 months ago that the the ugandan constitutional court in the case of CEHURD & 3Ors V AG Constitutional Petition No.16 of 2016
where The panel of five Justices who include Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo (as he then was), Cheborion Barishaki, Kenneth Kakuru, Egonda Ntende and Christopher Izama Madrama,
In a unanimous decision made the following declarations as posted on the CEHURD website,
The Declarations:
a)That the government’s omission to adequately provide basic maternal health care services in public health facilities violates the right to health and is inconsistent with and in contravention of Articles 8A, 39 and 45 read together with objectives XIV and XX of the National Objectives and Directive Principles of state policy of the Constitution;
b)That the government’s omission to adequately provide basic maternal health care services in public health facilities violates the right to life and is inconsistent with and in contravention of Article 22 of the Constitution;
c)That the government’s omission to adequately provide basic maternal health care services in public health facilities violates the rights of women and is (in) consistent (typo which we will follow up to correct) and contravenes articles 33(1), (2) and (3) of the constitution.
d)That the government’s omission to adequately provide emergency obstetric care in public health facilities violates the right to health, life and rights to women and is inconsistent and in contravention of article 8 (A), 22, 33 (1) (2) and (3), 45, 287 read together with objectives XIV and XX of the Constitution;
e)That the Government’s omission to adequately provide emergency obstetric care in public health facilities which results into obstetric injury subjects women to inhuman and degrading treatment and is inconsistent with and in contravention of Article 24 and 44 (a) of the Constitution
f)In order to meet the constitutional obligation of the state to uphold the right of women and fulfil their reproductive rights, the government should in the next financial year prioritise and provide sufficient funds in the national budget for maternal health care
g)The government of Uganda through the Minister responsible for health is directed to ensure that all the staff who provide maternal health care services in Uganda are fully trained and all health centers are equipped within the next 2 financial years (2020/2021 and 2021/2022)
h)In order to maintain a consistent and deliberate effort to improve the status of maternal health care in Uganda, the government through the minister responsible for health is directed to compile and submit to parliament with a copy to this court an audit report on the status of maternal health in Uganda at the end of each of the next two financial years (2020/2021 and 2021/2022).
i)The 3rd and 4th petitioners are awarded UGX 70,000,000/= each as general damages for the psychological torture, violation of the rights to life, health and cruel and degrading treatment of their loved ones.
j)The 3rd and 4th petitioners are each awarded as exemplary damages of shs. 85,000,000/= for the loss suffered as a result of acts and omissions of the medical personnel at Mityana Hospital and Arua Regional Referral Hospital.
k)The Attorney General is directed to submit a report at the end of the financial year 2020/2021 showing progress and implementation of the orders in (h)
l)This being a public interest litigation in which the petitioners did not pray for costs, no order regarding costs have been made.
Moving forward, we can work together to ensure that this judgement brings lasting change to our health system in Uganda, within the African region and globally.
follow the link to view full case https://www.cehurd.org/publications/download-info/judgement-to-the-constitutional-petition-no-16-of-2011-maternal-health-case-decided-in-the-affirmative/
By Waboga David.
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