When Patient Becomes Prisoner: Detention in Health Facilities in Uganda
The detention of patients due to failure to pay hospital bills is increasingly prevalent. This report shares the experience of those detained in hospitals in Uganda and best practices from other countries. From a rights based perspective, it analyses the impact of this on patients’ right to health, dignity, freedom from degrading treatment. It examines the causes, both long term and short term, finding that the persistent chronic under investment in public health services and to regulate the private sector providing health services risks undermining Uganda’s progress on universal health coverage, particularly for vulnerable women.