All hospitals must pitch in

All hospitals must pitch in

Even though the Public Health Ministry has threatened lawsuits against hospitals and medical establishments refusing to admit Covid-19 patients, it seems the agency has no fangs, as public complaints against such establishments are still circulating.

There are reports that some private hospitals place such tough conditions, like demanding exorbitant deposits at a 200,000-baht minimum, for patient admission. The demanded sum could be as high as 500,000 baht if a patient is elderly and in need of an ICU room. There are cases of hospitals slamming the door shut on infected people without explanation. Cases of infected people being abandoned have flooded social media.

In fact, the Health Establishments Law BE 2541 (1998) imposes jail terms and fines against any medical establishment refusing to provide treatment to those in need. Additionally, the government in 2017 promulgated a law that enables emergency patients to receive treatment from any hospital as the state will help take care of the medical bill.

Covid-19 patients, as emergency cases, are entitled to free treatment in both state and private hospitals as they can claim medical bill payment from state funds either under the 30-baht universal health (UHC) scheme or the Social Security Fund.

With the country in the grip of a new outbreak, the Department of Health Service Support on April 9 issued guidelines for medical laboratories and clinics, particularly those with no in-patient facilities, and hospitals instructing them to refer Covid-19 patients to hospitals, securing beds for them. But in reality, few, if any, have followed the guidelines. At least 12 were recently punished.

The Health Promotion Office, a core agency responsible for the UHC scheme, also maintained that it has entered into an agreement with private hospitals in order to guarantee bed availability and that such places can claim medical bill payments from the state; while other agencies, including those in the private sector, have been working against time to set up field hospitals, establishing coordination centres as well as patient referral systems.

It's not so smooth at this stage, although the government boasted for quite some time that the country was ready to tackle the virus crisis.

It's understood that hospital beds have become rare given the sharp rise in daily infection cases that have surpassed 2,000 for nearly a week, but it's unfortunate that few establishments have followed the newly enacted regulations that require them to notify health authorities so that the latter can secure a place in field hospitals for the patients. It's totally unacceptable that some establishments dump or discharge people with the virus. This cruel act is against the law, and given that it poses a grave transmission risk, from those people to their families, the community and others, it is a matter of ethics.

It's vital for the government to punish any establishment that fails to comply with the new rules. With the pandemic threat, all agencies must strictly follow laws, regulations and guidelines in order to control transmission. Of course, most private hospitals are concerned that they will have to bear extra costs that they cannot claim from the government if they have to handle Covid-19 patients. Their personnel will have to use personal protective equipment (PPE) suits and other protective gear like face masks, as well as extra medical devices like ventilators. But in a time of crisis, everyone must pitch in to save as many lives as possible, instead of thinking purely about profit.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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