The biggest health facility in the country, the John F. Kennedy Medical Center (JFK) is reported to have commenced giving free medical services to certain categories of patients. Dr. Billy C. Johnson, the Chief Medical Officer of the hospital made the disclosure last Friday at an honoring program held at the hospital in Sinkor. He quoted his boss, Chief General Administrator Dr. McDonald as assuring him that there are certain categories of patients who are treated free at the hospital. Dr. Johnson, one of the senior medical officials of the hospital who was recruited from the United States, identified these categories of patients as children under the age of five; AIDS patients as well as the elderly. He told this paper that many persons do get free treatment at various wards of the hospital contrary to report that the hospital is heavily in the business of collecting fees from patients. 

Asked as to whether, offering free services is not hampering the operation of the hospital, he said of course it does, but stressed that it is important to increase the annual budget of the hospital in the national budget. He said the free services are something that started since the McDonald's led administration took over the affairs of the hospital.  He called on the National Legislature to see the need to increase the hospital's budget taking into consideration the enormous task it has to handle in delivering health services to the people. Dr. Johnson refuted claims that contrary to information that the hospital send patients away who cannot afford to pay their medical bills he said, it has a standing policy of not turning patients away who cannot pay their bills.

According to him, the problem the hospital is faced with at the moment is that it is witnessing an increase in the number of terminally ill patients who are referred to the hospital from other hospitals and clinics, who he said are not able to pay for the services. He added that regardless of their situation, these patients are however treated by the hospital while at the same time the hospital is also treating a greater number of serious wounds from motor cycle accident patients who are non payers and are depleting funds.
“Government's funding is inadequate to cover all these cases and we are therefore appealing to the lawmakers to increase our annual budget to cover some of the expenses,” he stressed.

The JFK official said during medical or surgical emergency, the policy  of the hospital should be to first treat patients and then later, it would go ahead to collect money. “Patient's care and safety should always come first before any concern. I am going to advocate the holding of seminars and workshops on changing attitudes and mindset,” he said in a prepared text to the audience.

He reminded the personnel of the hospital that the only way they can succeed to overcome the enormous task facing the hospital is to work as a team from the bottom to the top, stressing that no single entity can do it alone without the medical community vice versa.