If a top politician falls ill, he (all the top politicians are male unfortunately) will be get the medical treatment overseas paid by the government. If renal patients being treated in a government hospital get hepatitis B and C, what should the government do? Simply and plainly the Government should pay their treatments even this implies paying full expenses in top hospital overseas.
I read on Republica the stories of persons who were about to undertake the kidney transplant and suddenly got infected. The daily says that as many as 19 persons got severely ill with hepatitis. While the cause of infection might not yet be clear, the bottom line is simple: the state should be held accountable for the misdeed created. Why should only top politicians get their medical treatments paid overseas?
Yes it might be a national interest issue to ensure that the leaders of the country get a special free package from top medical care facilities in Delhi, Bangkok, Singapore or New York.
But at the same time justice and fairness call for justice and fairness. People should be treated as equals. Period.
It is true that timid health steps are being taken to offer universal health care; it is true that rural areas are getting better health care but it is also true that the government for some reasons is not investing in health infrastructures since really long.
District and regional hospitals are in shambles. Is there any vested interested that does allow the government to allocate resources for hospitals’ infrastructural development?
Let’s set aside the suspicion that many top officers might be shareholders or co-owners of private clinics. It might be the case that few public officers have made some sort of targeted investments in the health sector but let’s forget about it. What might be the other reasons for not investing in hospitals? I sincerely have no ideas.
Might it be that donors are not happy if the government invests in public health infrastructures? Is there a huge gap in terms of budget? Who really knows!
What about standards? People do not need fancy rooms but what they need is a public private health service where standards are set and enforced. It is ridiculous that in 99% of hospital family members of the patients must take care of everything from buying medicines to provide for food for their dears ones being hospitalized. This is not a minimum standard. This is an insult to the idea of free, basic public health. There is no “Ke Garne” here.
In the European public hospitals is normal sharing the room with other patients. In that kind of welfare state, you do not get luxurious treatment but at least you are treated professionally, everything is not perfect but you are in a system with standards, rules and regulations. Plus sharing the room is not only cost effective but it is also a great way of bonding and sharing pain with others.
Nepal does not need super fancy standards but minimum equitable ones. Certainly the current standards being implemented are far below what I would consider as minimally acceptable.
Think about a health system where the patient can chose between public run hospitals and accredited private ones. Think about a financing mechanism where those private hospitals, part of the national public systems, can get refunded by the Ministry of Health and Population.
Recently the Ministry set some standards for fee payments, creating a common fees structure depending on the skills and experience of the doctor. It is a relatively simple idea that could work and help quit a lot to create a stronger level playing field. I believe that also it is our duty to ask each private health care provider to respect and enforce the new policy.
The major business houses are heavily investing in five stars top quality hospitals so that the rich and the politicians do not need to fly oversees for their treatments. All these major development projects in the health sector are welcome but will these super hospitals have a social dimension as part of their core businesses? Will these hospitals allocate a percentage of their beds to treat needy persons for free? Will they also allocate a percentage of their beds to treat persons at more accessible price?
As private schools are mandated to provide quotas for full scholarships, the same should apply for private hospitals.
How are the emergency rooms of these top hospitals working? If there is a real emergency, what do they do? Are they treating the patient regardless of the income? I am not talking about “minor” emergencies but just about very critical situations where a speedy life saving intervention could make the difference.
Surely these private entities cannot survive by doing charity only. While ethically they should be mandated to offer life saving interventions regardless of the financial capacities of the patient when medical action is really indispensible, the government should also step in and offer a reimbursement for the service being provided. We need regulations and new policies to really enhance the national health system.
These are all reflections and wishful ideas but let’s now go back to the bottom line. Let’s make the government accountable for what happened at the Human Organ Transplant Center and many other similar tragedies.
The infected persons are now even more vulnerable and more at risk of losing their lives; they have been in pain for years. Most of them have been incurring in huge financial losses in order to get treated.
Now the government should pay for their treatments. If needed, let’s also the Supreme Court rule for justice and fairness and let’s make sure that the ruling is fully enforced.
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