FOLLOWING this week’s posting on Yumi Tok Tok, a Facebook public forum, of payment to NRH emergency service staff with a picture of the payment receipt carrying MHMS stamp and signature, the Ministry of Health would like to confirm that the payment is unofficial and the NRH Disciplinary Committee has initiated investigation treating the incident as misconduct.
The emergency care services at NRH are free for all citizens, and no staff other than authorised revenue collector is allowed to collect fees.
The NRH is a public government hospital and it’s run under the health services act so all citizens or the public should access the services free at various points of service. However, the Minister of Health Under the act can prescribe certain fees to be charged at the hospitals. Emergency services, it is free for all citizens. There are small fees that are charged for example $20 for X-rays and these are only collected by authorised revenue officers at NRH accounts and Treasury, Ministry of Finance. No one else besides these authorised staff should collect money for Hospital services. Anyone that does it without authority should be disciplined as misconduct. The incident reported is illegal and unacceptable.
Doctors, nurses, paramedics, and public health officers have not authorised revenue collectors so any payments to them are both unofficial and potentially illegal.
As such public is strongly urged to come forward and report the matter to authorities so investigations can be initiated and carried out more effectively than simply posting on social media. The Ministry of Health has experienced difficulties with investigating such matters due to a lack of evidence on several occasions in the past. With a lack of evidence, the investigations get stalled, and eventually, matters are left unattended.
Additionally, Staff, corporate service workers, doctors, and nurses at NRH including health workers across the country are strongly urged to also report such corrupt practices with evidence, and not to harbor those engaged or involved in such unacceptable practices, even if they are close work colleagues or friends. The impact of such practices is immense and for health, this could potentially risk people’s health and potentially lead to fatalities.
One can only imagine people with financial difficulties, needing medical attention but knowing that they need to pay for the health service, surely, they will be influenced to opt for other remedies other than going to a nearby hospital or health clinic. This puts their health and lives at grave risk.
The revised hospital fee paper endorsed by MHMS Senior Executive Management, in November 2021, that stipulates charges for various NRH services including for foreigners has been submitted to the Attorney General’s office and will be conveyed to the public.
Call NRH accounts on phone 22812 or 28321 should any member of the public or user of NRH services come across any instructions to make direct payments to NRH staff.
SOURCE: MHMS PRESS
Feature Photo Caption : Solomon Islands National Referral Hospital (Credit: sendhope.org)
