Unpaid bill prevents mother from breastfeeding newborn baby – health union
J’pura hospital chief denies allegation
By Don Asoka Wijewardena-July 21, 2013
A mother who delivered a baby in Ward No: 9 at the Sri Jayewardenepura hospital was not allowed to breast feed her baby who was transferred to the neo-natal intensive care unit for congenital heart defects as she had not settled the hospital bill, All Ceylon Health Services Union (ACHSU) General Secretary alleged.
Gamini Kumarasinghe said that a 25-year-old mother from Thalawatugoda had been admitted to the Jayewardenepura hospital for vomiting as she was pregnant. She had delivered a baby after a successful caesarean operation. The doctors had diagnosed that the baby was suffering from congenial heart troubles and was transferred to the NICU. But the mother was not allowed to go to the NICU to breast feed the baby who was in need of mother’s milk.
He said that the reason for not allowing the mother to visit the NICU was that she had not settled the hospital bill. Although she had paid Rs.65,000 on admission the authorities had refused to allow her to visit the NICU due to an outstanding bill..
Jayawardenapura Hospital Director Dr. S.Gamage, when contacted for comment, denied the allegations leveled against hospital authorities. He said he was aware of the case. The woman admitted for vomiting had subsequently developed labour pains and undergone a caesarian operation. She had delivered a baby with some congenital heart defect. The baby had been transferred to the NICU, but the authorities had never refused to allow the mother to visit the baby in the NICU, Dr. Gamage said, adding, however, that the Jayewardenepura hospital was not a charity organization. The patients admitted to the hospital were required to pay some fees. When the hospital authorities asked the husband of the woman to settle the bill, he had said that he was a carpenter and did not have money to settle the bill, though the woman said her husband could afford to settle the bills.
Dr. Gamage said that the woman owed Rs. 120,000 to the hospital. But he had asked the authorities to discharge the mother though the full amount had not been settled. "What is happening in the hospital is that some employees are trying to take me for a ride. They tell the patients not to settle bills in full as the Director is a kind-hearted person. These employees get money from the patients on the sly for offering such advice at the expense of the institution. On several occasions some employees have come to me saying that some patients were his or her relatives, but inquiries proved that they were not related."
