Patients warned: Don’t pay what staff members charging privately

National

By JAMES GUMUNO
PEOPLE treated at the Mt Hagen Hospital have been advised to pay only the approved fees displayed at the revenue section and not what individual staff members might be trying to charge privately.
The fees approved by the hospital board are for various clinical services, reports and tests.
David Vorst, the acting chief executive of the Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority, said people should pay only the approved fees and not ones which may be charged separately by individual staff members.
He advised the public to report any hospital staff member charging fees other than the ones approved.
Vorst said all payments must be made at the revenue section, where an official receipt would be issued.
There have been reports that some patients had paid staff individually for the treatment or for getting reports from the Accidents and Emergency Unit. The hospital recently charged minimal fees for the supply of drugs and other services due to a shortage of essential medical supplies and equipment.
The Department of Health, which is responsible for supplying drugs to all hospitals, has been unable to supply some of the drugs requested.
This has put a lot of burden on the hospital, resulting in the decision to charge fees to raise internal revenue to buy supplies.
However, Vorst said this did not mean that hospital staff were allowed to collect fees beyond those prescribed.