The Ministry of Health says necessary steps are being taken to address concerns in relation to delays in the release of government subsidies for kidney dialysis treatments.

While responding to questions raised by the Public Accounts Committee, Permanent Secretary Doctor Jemesa Tudravu admitted that the delays are due to a technical issue between the Ministry and certain service providers.

He highlighted this after Public Accounts Committee member Ketan Lal made claims on the delay saying that these delays have caused anxiety among patients who rely on the subsidies for this life-saving care.

Dr Tudravu says there are six private and one public provider for kidney dialysis and the Ministry is ensuring that patients are not deprived of this critical support.

“We’ve noticed the drop in standard and adherence, so we’ve raised this to the companies and that has, through the engagement, has stalled the processing of the payment because we are asking them to submit. It doesn’t affect all the six. There’s only a few there. The ones that are fully compliant, they’re getting their monthly payment without any disruption. It’s just a few that had some issues in terms of compliance that we’ve been dealing with.”

Doctor Tudravu says they are having constant discussions with service providers to ensure compliance and smooth operations.

He states that they have also seen improvements standard operating procedures.