By Im Navin
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the article in French
The director of the Khmer-Russian Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh announced the government’s intention to see public hospitals gaining their financial independence.
Dr. Say Sengly, director of the Khmer-Russian Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh, announced that “government officials believe that several public hospitals must find their financial independence in a rather short term. We think that our services, pediatrics and gynecology in particular, financial independence will mean better level of services, better equipments. By making patients pay their fees, our budget will be more important for the development of the hospital.”
Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh was independent a few years ago, however, poor people avoid it because they are afraid to may too much for the care.” According to Say Sengly, “this attitude is not justified. There are beds always available in the hospitals for the poor. When we will become independent, we will have better equipments, and we will still act as a public hospital. At Calmette for example, since it became independent, real progress was made. I hope that my hospital will reach the same level of surgery with the same equipment.”
Dr. Say Sengly believes that this will allow for the care of people inside the country and it will put an end to patients seeking care in Vietnam or Thailand.
Dr. Say Sengly, director of the Khmer-Russian Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh, announced that “government officials believe that several public hospitals must find their financial independence in a rather short term. We think that our services, pediatrics and gynecology in particular, financial independence will mean better level of services, better equipments. By making patients pay their fees, our budget will be more important for the development of the hospital.”
Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh was independent a few years ago, however, poor people avoid it because they are afraid to may too much for the care.” According to Say Sengly, “this attitude is not justified. There are beds always available in the hospitals for the poor. When we will become independent, we will have better equipments, and we will still act as a public hospital. At Calmette for example, since it became independent, real progress was made. I hope that my hospital will reach the same level of surgery with the same equipment.”
Dr. Say Sengly believes that this will allow for the care of people inside the country and it will put an end to patients seeking care in Vietnam or Thailand.
5 comments:
"By making patients pay their fees, our budget will be more important for the development of the hospital.” Dr. Say Sengly
=I know for a fact that many dirt poor Cambodian people still can't pay their hospital fee. And what if the patient can't pay and what would Dr. Say Sengly do? It is a very common practice in Cambodia that if the patient can't pay for the hospital fee and they will receive substandard treatment and no medication and no vaccine and they are left to die.
I would like to ask Dr. Say Sengly. Is this the only way to make Khmer-Russian Friendship Hospital profitable by making the patience pay? Now I am not against paying for the hospital services but don't you think it is somewhat extreme when your hospital is in business to make a profit and not saving people life?
I believe no public hospitals should be in business to make any profit just like Cambodian Buddhist temple! All the hospital should be classify as non-profit and have the right not to pay tax to any governmental institution which will help hospital to stay in business many more years to come and of course with public, private, and government donation are good enough!
Don't put profit before human life!
totally agree with 6:28am. There are a lot of poor people here who cannot pay for their hospital fee when they are sick. So if all the public hospitals become
"financially independence" and start charging everyone, where the hell will these poor people go? Will they leave them to die?
Why don't the stupid Doctor go open his own private hospital than stay collect the salary, national budget, and extorting money from the poor too?
International Donnor should stop pay Hun Xen's gorverment and help direct to the poor people of Cambodia!
great idea! it finally catches up in cambodia like the rest of the industrialized, developed countries out there. yes, allowing privatization of hopital in cambodia will increase competition and demand for higher standard healthcare system, i think because when people pay for their healthcare, naturally, they demand a higher standard of care. so, some people might ask, then what is it for the poors or people who can't afford to pay for healthcare? this is when the gov't step in to help with the many programs like in the USA, EU, japan, australia, etc, the human services agency or the welfare system that help to subsidize people for their care if they deemed eligible. please borrow the system from the USA or something or ask for the USA's assistance to help overhaul this cambodian healthcare and human services agency. that's how they help those who can't afford in the USA, the EU countries, etc... yes, cambodia lacks a lot of the system we all take for granted in the western countries. however, cambodia can ask for technical assistance in order to strengthen this system because it would help the poor people in cambodia a lot, especially the disabled, the handicapped, the youngs and the elderly, etc... cambodia must call on more reforms in this area.
some people might ask: where is cambodia going to get enough money to do this? well, one way is to kick start the production of oil and gas that are recently rediscovered in cambodia and use that money toward these kind of programs to help the people who can't afford to pay for the healthcare once hospitals are privatized. that said, of course, are should also be state-run hospitals and clinics, too. i'm just suggest diversification of the cambodian healthcare system, that's all. thank you and may god bless cambodia.
it is possible to do so, that's why healthcare professional do have ethical conducts as well and swear by it so to prevent this kind of fear people have that healthcare providers may abuse the system or not doing what they are supposed to train to do: save life, period! this is what cambodia have to focus on training and strengthening the ethical conduct in this field as well as all other public services system. thank you.
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