252 patients leave Tangerang hospital without paying

TANGERANG (JP): At least 252 patients of Tangerang General Hospital ran away before paying their bills in the first 10 months of this year, causing the hospital losses of Rp 159.17 million (US$21,200), an official said on Wednesday.

In comparison the total number of fleeing patients last year was only 160 with total losses amounting to Rp 190.83 million, hospital president H. Syartil Arfan said.

"The sharply rising number of patients who have fled without paying is being caused mainly by the substantial fall in the patients' incomes due to the prolonged economic crisis," he said.

The number of patients seeking medical treatment in the hospital dropped drastically compared last year, Syartil said without giving any details.

He explained that the fleeing patients were not only from poor families but also consisted of dishonest people.

"There are many patients who register themselves to get medical treatment here by using fake identity cards. Many of them had planned to cheat the hospital beforehand," he said.

"Actually there is no need for them to run away as the hospital management will never hold patients who turn out to be incapable of paying the bills," he said.

Syartil urged the public not to be afraid of seeking medical treatment at the hospital as the management would exempt patients from paying if they were really broke.

He also explained that the number of patients who, when registering, submitted documents from their subdistrict heads confirming they were from poor families was 202 in the January/October period.

The number of such patients for the whole of last year was 197.

Syartil said that patients from poor families wanting to get medical treatment at the hospital could register themselves by using documents from their respective subdistrict heads, with the consent of the district chiefs.

"Those who are discharged from the hospital after treatment are forced to sign agreements as to their willingness to pay, even though many of them turn out to be penniless," he said.

Syartil reminded patients not to forget the hospital's financial situation, as its operational costs were born wholly by the hospital.

The hospital did get assistance from various parties, but only for maintenance, he said. The Japanese government, for example, once gave a donation channeled through the Ministry of Health in the form of used medical equipment, including syringes and blood sets.

The health ministry set aside Rp 750 million for the hospital per year and the home affairs ministry Rp 532 million, he said.

"All of the donations are earmarked to help patients from poor families," he added. (41/hhr)