Govt condemns hospitals' detention of patients

Deputy Health minister Paul Chimedza has condemned the detention of patients at government hospitals for failure to pay debt.

Some government hospitals have over the years detained patients especially new mothers who fail to pay medical fees.

Chimedza said they had received a number of complaints from patients who had been detained at hospitals.

"It is not a policy of the Ministry of Health and Child Care that people be detained for not being able to pay user fees," Chimedza said.

"We have communicated this to the people who superintend over our health institutions again and again because this is a complaint that has come to the Ministry.

 "So, we are going to continue looking into the matter and ensure that it is rectified. Suffice to say, the Ministry does not condone that kind of practice."

Chimedza however said it was important for members of the public to remember that healthcare institutions are maintained by money.

"There are people that can afford to pay so that we can maintain those institutions in a way that can enable service provision to people.

"They should be paying because we say no one should be turned away from the hospitals; people come into the hospitals, some with medical aid and others who can afford to pay," he said.

"They simply walk in and after getting the service, they walk out because they know nothing will happen to them.

"So, let us educate our constituents that it is important these institutions are not there to serve Government but to serve the people. We all have a duty to support these institutions."