Kaduna explains N400,000 cost of treatment per COVID-19 patient
by Rasheed Sobowale
By Ibrahim HassanWuyo
The Kaduna State Commissioner of Health, Dr Amina Mohammed Baloni, said that it costs the government more than N400,000 to diagnose and treat a COVID-19 patient.
Dr Baloni who gave a detailed breakdown in a statement issued on Sunday, further said that the cost includes ‘’the healthcare infrastructure that supports the capacity to trace, test and treat.’’
According to the commissioner, the total cost of treating a COVID-19 patient as well as the renovation of and equipping the four treatment centres and the surveillance of his or her contacts for 14 days amount to N436,457.
The statement further said that pre-admission services which include Diagnostic Test kits like specimen bottle and swab sticks costs N21,650 per patient.
“Personal Protective Equipment for testing, especially gloves, disposable gowns and face masks cost N2,400m,’’ Dr Baloni added.
The commissioner further said that the Kaduna State government bears the cost of evacuating the COVID-19 patient to the treatment facility which costs N3,500, while the cost of feeding and Covid-19 support medication is N24,000.
The statement also stated that Kaduna state pays for the cost of pre-morbid drugs and complications and Personal Protective Equipment, amounting to N6,000, N6,000 and N48, 000 respectively.
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According to Dr Baloni, the administration also foots personnel costs, pays cleaning agents, shoulders the cost of laundry, incineration, equipment, fueling and other utilities, amounting to N77,000.
“COVID-19 follow-up tests, including test kit, cost N20,000, while VTM costs N800 and specimen bottle and swap sticks cost N200 and N650 respectively, totally N43, 300, ’’ she added.
The commissioner also revealed that surveillance of a COVID-19 patient costs N3,500 and the tests for five primary contacts (Test kit-N20,000, VTM-N800, Specimen bottle-N200, Swab sticks-N650) cost N108, 250.
Dr Baloni who said that the state has vastly expanded treatment capacity since March, 2020, revealed that the government ‘’ began with upgrading the then sole Infectious Diseases Control Centre in Kakuri, and acquiring and upgrading additional facilities in Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria to vastly increase available bed space.”
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‘’The state is also building a new 136-bed treatment in Kaduna. From zero testing labs in March 2020, the state now has three molecular labs, one of which is private. The other two are in the Yusuf Dantsoho Hospital, Kaduna, and Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika,’’ she added.
According to the commissioner, ‘’Kaduna State also acquired 10,000 test kits for its GeneXpert machines. It further a mobile testing vehicle to move around the state for enhanced community testing.
“On the personnel side, it has paid the agreed incentives for its frontline health workers and continues to provide decent care in its treatment centres.’’