‘College of Medicine Not UCH Charges N10,000 for Ebola Test’

The management of the University College Hospital (UCH) yesterday said the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and not UCH charges patients N10,000 for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) test, saying “testing for Ebola for our in- and out- patients is free of charge.”

The Public Relations Officer of UCH, Ayodeji Bobade, said all Ebola tests are being conducted at the Virology Department, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.
He stated further that “those who pay N10,000 fee at the Virology Department are those who are healthy but wants to know their Ebola status for the purpose of securing a visa or for travelling purpose.

“This fee is just a fraction of what it cost to conduct a reliable and verifiable Ebola test. Again, the reference to the fact that UCH has just three Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) is false and highly ridiculous. We have had reasons in the last few weeks to give these PPEs to not less than three sister teaching hospitals in the South-west zone of the country who came running to UCH to understudy our preparation to contain the EVD.”

Even with the fear of Ebola receding across thecountry, there is palpable worry among people in Oyo State who are likely to find it difficult to know their test results except the hospital reverses its policy of imposing exorbitant fees on patients who have been thronging there to confirm whether they are infected with the dreaded virus or not.

The need to ascertain their status had arisen from the stigmatisation by foreign mission and other bodies who have been insisting since the outbreak of the disease in the country that Nigerian travellers wanting to enter their countries must produce certificates verifying that they are free of the Ebola virus.

Findings at the UCH in the past one week revealed that patients thronging the hospital to ascertain the status of their health were turned back when they could not afford the sum of N10,000 being demanded by the hospital authorities to check if they were Ebola-positive or negative. Even at that, patients have to pay the N1,600 compulsory consultancy fee.

(The Beat 97.9fm)