Hospital will still charge fees, says MGH boss

By ELIAS LARI
THE Mendi General Hospital in Southern Highlands will not give free treatment to patients.
It will continue to charge fees until it receives a directive from the national department of health, chief executive officer Joseph Turian said.
“All fees will remain the same until the Department of Health gives a direction on whether to give free treatment,” he said.
The government has announced that people will not pay fees for public medical services but Turian said under the Hospital Act, “Mendi General Hospital will continue to charge medical fees”.
Turian said they must receive instructions from the department before they could give free treatment.
He said the K10 million given by the government was not enough to pay for drugs if they were to provide free treatment to the people.
Turian said the hospital collected fees to pay for drugs.
He said if fees were not collected it would make it difficult to pay for the drugs and only put greater pressure on his staff.
Turian said the hospital needed its buildings renovated and bought new equipment.
He said some people from remote parts of the province would come to the hospital and ask for free treatment.
 That would not be fair because the hospital “will need more money to operate”.
He agrees with the government’s decision but then there were costs involved that the hospital had to find funds for.