No hospital bills for victims: Dhahi

People injured in traffic accidents or those who are victims of a crime must be admitted to hospital and treated free of cost, Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police’s Commander in Chief said in an interview today.
 
General Dhahi Khalfan added that there is no legal precedent for any hospital to demand payment from victims in such cases.
 
Speaking to Arabic daily Emarat Al Youm,  General Dhahi Khalfan said: “Anyone who is transferred by ambulance and admitted to hospital should receive free treatment at government expense if it is not his/her fault that s/he is involved in the accident.”
 
General Dhahi Khalfan expressed his surprise when informed that Rashid Hospital was asking victims injured accidents to pay the treatment bills.
 
In one particular case a resident of Dubai identified as Shaima’a Mohammed was stabbed during a robbery and seriously injured.

She was subsequently transferred to Rashid Hospital by ambulance and immediately taken to the operating room.

She was subject to several operations and the hospital management asked her to pay the bill for the treatment which amounted to Dh135,000, and a pharmacy bill which was even more.

General Dhahi Khalfan said: “This is illegal and unfair.

Most countries in the world, such as Germany, offer free treatment for anyone admitted to the hospital by ambulance. These cases are classified as an emergency and should not pay any fees to the hospital.”

He called on Dubai Health Authority to force the one who is behind the accident to bear the cost of the treatment of the victim, if any, and stop claiming the amount for victims.

Yusuf Ibrahim Director of Finance and Administration at Rashid Hospital of Dubai said the Department of Accidents in the hospital received injuries and emergency cases where they are subjected to First Aid and various types of treatment without any financial compensation, until the situation stabilises.

But he acknowledged that the hospital starts collecting fees from patients after emergency treatment and entry into other sections of the hospital.

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