Industry News

Private Hospitals Provide Free Emergency Care

12 October 2009

In Categories: Nursing , Industry News , Industry News > General , Industry News > Patients

HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION OF SA

Media Statement

Private hospitals provide free emergency treatment free of charge to indigent patients

Every year, private hospitals provide emergency medical treatment to the value of tens of millions of rands to South Africans who do not have the means to pay for their treatment, says the Hospital Association of South Africa (Hasa).

Responding to comments by the Minister of Higher Education, The Hon. Dr Blade Nzimande, that private hospitals turn away dying patients who do not have money or medical cover, Hasa Chairman Dr Nkaki Matlala says private hospitals adhere to a strict code of ethics and are also bound by law to provide emergency medical treatment to any patient who arrives at their doors in a critical condition – irrespective of his/her ability to pay.

“Over the past four years, private hospitals have spent tens of millions of rands on providing emergency medical services and treatment to patients who could not afford it,” says Matlala. “These services include everything from ambulance transport to life support, life-saving surgery and admission to intensive care units depending on the patient’s condition.”

Matlala says that according to the National Health Act, private hospitals are required to stabilise critically ill patients before transferring them to state institutions for further treatment.  In most cases, this is done at the hospital’s own expense and they are not reimbursed by the government he says. 

All Hasa members adhere to a strict code of ethics which recognises their duty to deliver healthcare services for the betterment of patients and community wellbeing.  

Other examples of how the private hospital sector has stepped in to deliver healthcare to poor patients include free cataract programmes, surgery to help alleviate backlogs of patients awaiting prostatectomies and mastectomies and specialised surgical procedures such as cochlear implants, cleft-lip and palate corrections and paediatric cardiac surgery, among many others. All these procedures were carried out free of charge for these patients.  

“As private hospitals, we remain committed to extending quality healthcare to all South Africans,” says Matlala.
“Unfortunately, many of the good efforts by dedicated physicians, healthcare workers and facilities in the private sector to assist indigent patients go unrecognised. It’s a pity that some key decision makers don’t understand the law because this creates misperceptions in the minds of many during a time in which the country is working towards developing a sustainable NHI. ”

“It is very important that the truth and facts should not escape us as people seek to popularise the NHI,” says Matlala.
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