Search This Blog

Monday 23 January 2012

Man stops visiting wife in hospital as bill goes up

This is when you truly know for sure that the world has gone mad!! A private hospital in Medina, Saudi Arabia, is demanding Saudi Riyals 40,000 from Pakistani resident Muhammad Abed for taking care of his child. He said: “My wife was pregnant and suddenly felt pain. So I took her to a hospital but they were unable to take her. They had no vacant beds. I spent several hours trying to find a hospital that could take her. When my wife’s condition worsened, I did not have a choice but to go to a private hospital.”

He added: “Minutes after my wife was taken in, doctors said her life was in danger, and she needed to go into labor. My child was born after only seven months and needed to be placed in an incubator. I paid 16,000 riyals for the time being but the hospital is demanding the rest of the amount. I ignore their calls every day and have not visited my wife and my child in the hospital for some time.”

This is a very sad case as the man clearly doesn't have the money to pay for his wife's release. What is he to do? If this was any kind of decent hospital with humanitarian concern for fellow human beings they would have offered him some kind of way to pay off the money at a reduced rate or over a long period of time. Instead, they are probably keeping his wife a s a prisoner until the money is paid.

We all know the power of these kinds of hospitals. I have experienced them in Thailand and in Saudi Arabia where they see the colour of your white skin and all of a sudden you are being ushered into a private room with the highest price rating. I have experienced something similar with AXA and Blue Cross medical insurance companies who will do anything rather than pay out on a genuine medical claim. The medical business, per se, is one huge unregulated rip off and something should be done about it!!

More here:  http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article566818.ece