Juba Teaching Hospital accused of extorting patients

JUBA – The economic cluster sub-committee on non-oil revenue has accused the Juba Teaching Hospital of extorting money from the patients for services that should not attract charges.

According to the committee, basic services such as beds in the hospital were supposed to be free of charge which they said is contrary to their finding.

The committee said the Juba Teaching Hospital administration was charging patients for using the hospital beds including those at the maternal wards.

One of the reliable sources said the midwives at the hospital at one time charged him SSP 3,000 after he took his wife for delivery.

“I took my wife to Juba Teaching Hospital at 3 am when she wanted to deliver and thank God she delivered safely that night. So, in the morning when we wanted to leave, one of the midwives who seemed to be the [one] in-charge demanded SSP 3,000 and I had to pay,” he said.

The source said the hospital might have increased the charges by now because the rate he paid was as off 2019.

Another source also revealed to City Review that visitors to the Juba Teaching Hospital are charged from SSP 50 to SSP 100 in entrance fee at the main gate.

While releasing their report to the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, the secretary of the committee Wani Boya said the hospital is a public facility and should provide free services to the people.

“We found out that the staff in the ministry here do not have the financial Act, so they are collecting money out of the financial Act,” Wani revealed to the ministry of health.

He also blamed the staff of the revenue authority who are assigned to the ministry of health for misusing the act of drugs and food authority to collect money.

“Unfortunately, the staff of revenue authority also don’t have a financial Act. So, they only come and get the records from the institution concerned. The commission, drug, and food authority, just collect the money [and] sends it to single treasury account, so this is a challenge,” Wani stressed.

Dr. Victoria Acut, Undersecretary for the Ministry of Health expressed commitment to supporting the committee in correcting the financial irregularities in the ministry to ensure revenues are collected properly.

“The ministry of health is committed to supporting the committee in correcting all the financial irregularities and to ensure that the revenues are collected properly and given to the treasury because that is what the law says,” Victoria assured the committee on Tuesday.

“I also confirmed with what the committee has suggested as stipulated in the law.  We have to use the laws and financial regulations of South Sudan and the ministry of health remains committed to,” she added.