Hospital care at different wards the same: Gupta

National

Treatment given at the intermediate ward of Port Moresby General Hospital,  where patients pay higher fees, and the general wards are the same, the hospital’s chief executive Dr Umesh Gupta says.
Gupta said that although there was a fee charged at the intermediate ward for doctor visits, at the general wards there was no fee charged.
He also clarified that the doctor’s fee was not paid to the doctors but was collected and used by the hospital.
“After all, the state is paying a doctor’s salary and the state is then charging the patients who want to pay for those services at the intermediate ward.
“Those who do not want to pay or cannot pay for the intermediate ward are treated in the general wards and the treatment is exactly the same throughout the hospital, irrespective of the ability to pay,” he said.
Gupta said that patients were never coerced for the intermediate ward and that there was no selling of the intermediate ward, instead patients go there by their own choice.
“Public patients are admitted to general wards that have Nightingale type configuration with 52-62 beds in each ward. There are no charges associated with general wards except for  admission fees – K5, surgical fees – K 15 and CT scan fees – K 50.
“In fact, till 2014, public patients used to be charged for lab tests and radiology tests. These were completely stopped with the implementation of a computerised hospital information system.
“No patient has ever been denied treatment or treated any less at PMGH due to lack of funds.”
Gupta said that the schedule of charges specified the charges for all services used in the intermediate ward.