Sunday, October 25, 2020

After criticism, govt directs hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients for free if they cannot afford

Kathmandu, October 25

After its previous decision to not bear costs of treatment of Covid-19 patients unless in exceptional cases drew criticism from stakeholders and the public, the government on Sunday directed hospitals across the country to treat Covid-19 patients for free if the patients say they cannot afford it.

In a statement this afternoon, Dr Guna Raj Lohani, the chief of the Health Ministry’s Incident Command System, clarifies a patient’s self-declaration is enough to get free treatment whenever they cannot afford. The rule applies to all government and private hospitals and medical colleges, according to him.

Lohani says the ministry has received complaints that some hospitals demanded a certain charge before the treatment, thereby depriving some patients of remedy.

Earlier, after the decision was criticised, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had also defended the decision assuring no one would be deprived of Covid-19 test and treatment.

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