Covid-19 patients are paying up to Sh234,000 for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) alone, a new report on hospital charges says.
The report, which breaks down the cost of treating Covid-19 in the country, shows patients in home-based care are better off as they can save up to Sh69,000 by not being confined in either a hospital or an isolation centre.
The report titled Examining Unit Costs for Covid-19 Case Management in Kenya, says PPEs and staff care are the leading reasons why the cost of taking care of patients in hospitals is high.
The report compiled by Edwin Barasa from Health Research Economic Unit at Kenya Medical Research Institute/Wellcome Trust shows that PPEs increase the bills for Covid-19 hospital care by 70 per cent.
The cost of taking care of an asymptomatic patient in home-based care is Sh1,993, according to the report. However, when PPE is added – priced at Sh18,856 – the cost shoots up.
If the same patient is taken care of in a hospital, the cost of managing the disease rises to Sh88,983. This higher cost is because of the increase in staff charges to Sh14,279 from Sh2,243 when on home-based care and additional accommodation charges of Sh31,200.
If the patient is mild or moderately sick, then by being on home-based care, one can save Sh65,063. This is because while it costs Sh1,995 per day to manage a mildly or moderately symptomatic patient, adding PPE raises the cost to Sh23,942.
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