Special fund to ease accident victims treatment

The Special Guarantee Fund has introduced the new system for direct treatment of road accidents victims dubbed “Medical Service in Golden Hours,” the Fund’s Director-General, Bernardin Ndashimye, has said.Addressing journalists, yesterday, Ndashimye said the service is a response to the current system where hospitals are reluctant to treat victims fearing not to get paid by insurance companies.For the new system, the Fund will pay hospitals and deal with the companies required to pay for the victims. “The law allows us to pay for the victims and deal with insurance companies,” said Ndashimye.He said that the fund has entered into an agreement with hospitals and no victim will die due to the reluctance of the hospitals.“Hospitals used to deny treatment for patients or hold patients once treated until they managed to pay which was a challenge,” he said.Currently the fund works with various hospitals countrywide such as the Kigali University Teaching Hospital (CHUK), King Faisal Kigali Hospital and Gahini Hospital among others.He however raised concerns that as the programme is being rolled out to all medical facilities in the country, there was a concern of over charging or forgery, and he called for integrity from medical service providers.Unscrupulous Some cases of over charging were already observed where some beneficiaries reported heavy receipts and after carrying out the investigation the fund found the amount required was different from the one they should have asked for.The Fund pays for accidents like hit and runs or in case the vehicle was found not to be insured. Emmanuel Ruhumuliza, a motorcyclist in Kigali, said this will come as a relief to accident victims, because some would be abandoned in corridors, which lead to avoidable deaths.“My brother is a victim of a night hit-and-run. We took him to hospital, but doctors first asked for the insurance company before treating him. This is a good decision for road users,” Ruhumuliza said.CHUK Medical Director Theobald Hategekimana welcomed the fund’s initiative, saying it would benefit both victims and the hospitals.“The victims of accidents from unidentified vehicles are treated, it is helpful as we get money from the fund on time and we manage to treat others,” said Hategekimana.

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Special fund to ease accident victims treatment