Saving lives, not moneymaking a priority

Mmegi Editor | Friday August 5, 2016 11:14

Reports indicate that upon arrival at the country’s largest hospital she was thrown from pillar to post as medical officers demanded that she produce evidence of her medical aid or she would not be assisted.

Another demand was for her to make an upfront payment in the region of P4,000.  Although the medical officers claimed that she was subsequently assisted, they deny any demand for an upfront payment.  They, however, insisted that it is what the hospital policy demands. 

What bothers us is that demand for an upfront payment when a patient or a person is in pain is inhumane and the practice should be denounced. First, the patient in question is a civil servant whose place of work is known, whose details can easily be traced from the employer in the event  the person fails to pay for services rendered.  It is a fact that expatriates are required to register for medical aid when they are employed in the country, an arrangement, which should make it easier for them to get assistance in government hospitals.

There are mechanisms in place for government accounting systems to ensure recovery of revenue from any debtors irrespective of how much is owed.

Technology has also made it easy for individuals to be tracked and institutions like Marina should put in place such systems, to recover debt  owed to them.  It is against this backdrop that we strongly feel that the medical officers erred in delaying assistance to a patient who was not only unwell but further involved in a road accident while in an ambulance to get medical assistance.

Nonetheless, expatriates should do more to safeguard their welfare and ensure that they carry their medical identity cards with them wherever they go, since it is impossible to predict what may happen in the course of the day.  A person may suffer from an unknown life threatening condition without any warning, or get involved in an accident.  With all identity documents in place it would be easy for that person to get assistance quickly.

We hope that incidents of this nature will not be repeated and focus will be on saving lives as that is after all the business of hospitals.

 

Today’s thought 

“If you truly believe in the value of life, you care about all of the weakest and most vulnerable members of society.” 

- Joni Eareckson Tada