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Hospital turning away patients
Caiphas Chimhete, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
October 30, 2005

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/read.php?path=./news/2005/October/Sunday30/&st_id=3244

ONE of the country's largest referral health centres, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, is turning away patients under the department of social welfare scheme because the department had not been paying the health institution for several months now, The Standard has learnt.

Disgruntled patients and their relatives last week said that they were turned away from the hospital without any treatment even though they had authentic letters from the department of social welfare.

The patients said hospital officials were demanding cash or cheques before any form of treatment. But the department of social welfare only offers letters that indicate that the patient cannot afford the fees.

"I was shocked when my aunt was denied treatment at the hospital on Wednesday. The officials said the department was not paying them so they cannot treat her," said Arnold Dube, who had taken her relative to the hospital.

Reports say that department of social welfare is broke and is failing to pay institutions that offer services to its constituency. The department has also stopped paying schools fees for disadvantaged children and those orphaned by HIV and Aids because of lack of funds.

The Standard could not establish how much the hospital is owned by the department but reports say this could amount to more than $25 billion.

The director of the department social welfare, Sydney Mhishi, could not be reached for comment.

An official with the hospital confirmed on Friday saying: "I am not sure of the exact day we stopped accepting letters from the social welfare, but it's sometime this month. The problem is non-payment."

Parirenyatwa chief executive officer, Thomas Zigora, on Friday refused to comment on the matter.

"I talked to another newspaper on Monday and the matter was settled. I don't want to resuscitate it," Zigora said.

However, on Thursday patients with letters from the department of social welfare were still being turned way from the hospital.

The Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Edwin Muguti, said all public hospitals are mandated to treat patients under the department of social welfare scheme.

"They are not supposed to do that. As government health institutions they are supposed to treat all patients who come with letters from the department of social welfare because it would have been certified that they cannot afford to pay for themselves," Muguti said.

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