Online Reporter
Debra Matabvu
Online Reporter
PRIVATE health institutions are now legally required to admit and treat patients suffering life-threatening medical emergencies for at least 48 hours to stabilise them before transferring them to a Government health facility, even if the patient cannot afford the cost of treatment.
This follows the signing into law of the Medical Services Amendment Bill by President Mnangagwa this week.
The new Act, which was gazetted on Tuesday, also gives health care providers the legal right to refuse treatment to patients who are physically or verbally abusive or who sexually harass them.
It also introduces a broad range of new patient rights, professional obligations and accountability measures aimed at strengthening Zimbabwe’s health care system.
The new law significantly reforms the Medical Services Act by aligning it with constitutional provisions on the right to health care, emergency medical treatment, informed consent, patient confidentiality and non-discrimination.
One of the most far-reaching provisions is the introduction of mandatory emergency treatment by private hospitals.
Reads the Act: “A private health institution shall admit any patient who is suffering from a condition which causes an immediate danger to the life of the patient for a period of not less than 48 hours for the purpose of stabilising the patient before transferring him or her to a Government health institution which has the capacity to provide the required medical treatment or care, if he or she is unable to afford treatment on the same terms and conditions as other patients admitted in the private health institution.”
The new legislation further empowers the Minister of Health and Child Care to request private hospitals to make specialist medical facilities available to critically ill patients or victims of public emergencies initially admitted to Government hospitals where such facilities are unavailable in the public sector.
To facilitate implementation, the Act allows the minister and private health institutions to conclude agreements for recovering all or part of the treatment costs from either the patient or the State.
Heads of private health institutions or health practitioners who unlawfully refuse emergency treatment are liable to a fine not exceeding Level 8 – US$500 or the equivalent in ZiG – or imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
