Published by the government of Zimbabwe
3 January 2009
Harare — PUBLIC hospitals have been given the green light to charge for all medical services in foreign currency; a development many hope will improve service delivery.
The Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, earlier this week confirmed that the Government had allowed public health care facilities to give patients the option to pay in foreign currency if they so wished.
He said this did not mean the hospitals would no longer accept the Zimbabwe dollar.
"What we have said is that our patients should continue paying in local currency, but in the event that they opt to pay in foreign currency, we are to go by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe regulations," Dr Parirenyatwa said.
He emphasised that no one was going to be forced to pay in hard currency.
"The idea is meant to facilitate a smooth flow of services while the patient receives treatment from the health care provider," he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa said of late, a number of patients had started voluntarily opting to pay in foreign currency instead of Zimbabwe dollars, which have been hard to come by.
He said the important thing was to ensure that Government institutions continued to function and offer the full range of services expected by the public.
Observations by The Herald at several public health institutions showed that patients were being charged at least US$70 per night on admission.
In many cases, they entered into arrangements with the doctors treating them and would be attended to as private patients for varying charges depending on the treatment sought.
Women scheduled for Caesarean operations were being asked to pay a flat fee of US$150.
In the event that a woman gave birth to a pre-term baby who needed to be put in a nursery, she would be required to part with anything above US$5 each time she intended to visit her baby.
For a computerised tomography (CT) scan, patients are charged US$80.
Medical aid has become redundant as the recent partial dollarisation of the economy has seen virtually all service providers demanding payment in foreign currency.
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well done the west . what IDIOTS using the us$ when they hurl INSULTS AT THE USA PRESIDENT I HOPE THAT MIXED RACE GUY IN BOTS WILL HAVE A GOOD CHAT OVER SOME TEA WITH HIS MATE IN THE Us!!!
Let me get this straight. Zim is in the worst state it has ever been in, in its history and mugabe goes on holidays! What an absolute disgrace. mugabe and regime do not care at all for the people of Zim, they care only for themselves. mugabe and regime are suppose to be the servants of there people like any elected person is the world over.
Wonder if mugabe has run away for good as he knows what is coming. As no leader would ever begin to think about leaving for a months holiday during a cholera epidemic and with the financial situation the way it is.
Does everyone else see the funny side to mugabe, regime and there follows telling the US to leave it alone and then go and use the US dollar as Zim's main currency.
Mugabe has run away from Zim, let the takeover of Zim by the good people of Zim, start today.