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Paidamoyo Chipunza Health Reporter
Public health institutions are losing millions of dollars as both public and private doctors fraudulently use Government resources on their private patients, while other staff members and their families access services for free. Government doctors further reap off patients by converting them from Government to private and asking them to pay huge amounts of up to $2 000 for certain services.
A recent report by the Civil Service Commission Inspectorate on Kadoma General Hospital, following an anonymous complaint bore evidence to these practices and other allegations.
According to the report, five named private doctors in the town did their operations in the hospital theatre on different occasions between January and February 2013 without paying anything to the hospital.
In addition to using the hospital’s theatre for free, the doctors also used gowns, masks, gum boots, detergents and sanitisers procured by Government funds.
They would also refer their patients to other departments such as rehabilitation.
The doctors would, however, pay staff in the theatre and any general hand who would have assisted in their procedures through medical aid.
“These private doctors are not paying to the hospital for use of equipment, gowns, masks, gum boots, detergents and sanitisers,” the CSC said.
“They are not contributing anything on autoclaving and laundry.”
The CSC said the malpractices were not confined to Kadoma General Hospital alone as they are also taking place at other public hospitals.
The CSC revealed that all the three Government doctors at Kadoma General Hospital abused hospital facilities such as theatre,
laboratory, rehabilitation, x-ray and admission wards by disguising their private patients as Government patients.
Kadoma General Hospital lost US$17 580 between January 2012 and January 2013 in unpaid services provided to staff and their dependants, regardless of the fact that the majority of the staff members were on medical aid.
“In extreme cases, staff members could collect cash from patients and then make sure they are treated as staff members with the hospital realising nothing out of it,” said the CSC.
It further noted that Government doctors were rarely at work as they concentrated on their surgeries at the expense of public patients.
Some departments would spend weeks without getting any doctor, while the outpatients department would get a doctor only after 2pm or not at all.
In the maternity department, the same doctors reportedly gave instructions to nurses by phone without assessing the situation, resulting in increased numbers of new born deaths.
According to the report, the number of fresh still births increased from 37 in 2011 to 51 in 2012, while early infant deaths also increased from 106 to 152 during the same period.
Responding to the allegations, Mashonaland West provincial medical director Dr Wancelous Nyamayaro said private practice had since been stopped at Kadoma General Hospital.
“This measure should also answer the question of doctors in theatre for private patients at the expense of public patients or use of Government resources for private patients,” he said.
Dr Nyamayaro said investigations on cases of corruption cited by the CSC were underway.
Online Reporter