Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’s
Department of Health has asked hospitals to not charge patients’ families for
.
The move was made following reports that some
hospitals in the city charged patients’ families for using basic services such
as toilets, water and chairs.
Earlier this month, a hospital in the city’s Thu
Duc district announced it would charge patients’ families 30,000 VND (1.3 USD)
per person per day for using such services.
The hospital’s managers said the fee would be
used to invest in improving and for
patients.
Director of Tu Du Hospital Le Quang Thanh said that
some hospitals charged patients’ families with the aim of ensuring social order
and security at hospitals.
“The fee collection is considered part of management
measures to limit the number of patients’ families staying at the hospitals,
ensure order and security and ensure the best treatment for patients,” he said.
Many criminals pretended to be related to
patients to enter hospitals and it was common for patients and their families
to have cell phones and money stolen, he added.
Thanh noted that the fee was small so the fee
collection was not aimed at increasing hospitals’ incomes.
However, Director of the municipal Department of
Health Tang Chi Thuong said it was unreasonable to charge patients’ families
for such basic services.
The department ordered the hospital in Thu Duc district
to stop the collection of such fees.
He said the cost for services such as rest
rooms, water, lifts, electrical outlets and other services were included in
check-up and treatment services so hospitals were not allowed to collect extra
fees.
Hospitals should provide a wide range of
services for patients and their families, depending on each hospital’s ability,
he said. They could provide extra services with fees such as food, laundry
services and beds to meet the demands of certain patients and families. The
price of these services must be publicised.
It was also necessary for hospitals to increase
information dissemination to raise awareness among patients and their families
of abiding by regulations, particularly in keeping order and security and
ensuring that each patient is accompanied by one family member, he said.
The department also encouraged hospitals to
build accommodation for patients and their families travelling from outside of
the city.
Hospitals in big cities like Hanoi and HCM City
are in dire need of more accommodation for hospital patients and their
relatives. Each hospital receives thousands of patients from other provinces
and cities every day.
Each patient often has one or several family
members accompanying them. It’s common to see patients’ relatives resting in
corridors, under stairs, on benches or under trees on hospital premises as they
can’t afford to rent accommodation.
Hospital K in Hanoi, which provides treatment
for cancer patients, for example, put into operation a residential complex for
patients and their families. The accommodation was offered for free at first
and later, the patients only have to pay 15,000 VND per person each day for
electricity and water, much cheaper than renting houses in areas around the
hospital.
Regarding toilets, the health department
required hospitals in the city to have plans to upgrade toilets in 2019 to
ensure better sanitation conditions for patients and their families, following
instructions from the Ministry of Health, according to Thuong.-VNS/VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
