"I brought my daughter-in-law to Rau Memorial Hospital as I had heard that maternal services are free of cost here," said Faguni Rajak of Mirchaiya. "However, the hospital charged us almost the same amount any private hospital would," he added. According to him, they were made to pay all the charges except the doctor's examination fees.
Just a few days ago, Gyan Kumar Bishwakarma of Golbazar took his pregnant wife, Srijana, to Rau Hospital after she went into labor. He paid Rs 1,500 for ambulance that brough them to the hospital. A doctor at the hospital told him that a video x-ray was needed for further analysis. As the service is not available at the hospital, the x-ray had to be conducted at a nearby clinic, which cost him Rs 700. The doctor insisted on surgery as he said the delivery would not be possible otherwise.
The hospital is supposed to provide all maternal services free of cost under the Safe Motherhood Programme. However, Bishwakarma had to spend around Rs 12,000 in just four days. They not only paid for all the medicines but even for disposable gloves used by the doctors.
Similarly, Rabina Mahato of Siraha-3 recently delivered her child at the hospital. Her husband, Indra Jeet, paid Rs 900 for the ambulance service. Although the hospital provided saline water free of cost, they had to buy all the necessary medicines and other items from outside the hospital, spending more than Rs 5,000.
Family of another pregnant woman, Manisha Devi Yadav, was charged Rs 2,000 for ambulance. The family had to pay for everything from video x-ray and saline water to medicines.
What is even more frustrating for service seekers is the fact that no other government-funded hospitals in the district implement Safe Motherhood Programme. According to Raj Bir Yadav, an information officer at Sarlahi District Hospital, the hospital itself and the Primary Health Center at Mirchaiya are yet to implement the program.
According to data provided by Rau Hospital, around 300 pregnant women visit the hospital every month. The hospital has been receiving patients mostly from Siraha, Saptari and Udayapur districts.
Yogendra Shah, chief of accounts section of the hospital, said the government provides Rs 1,500 for normal delivery and Rs 7,000 for delivery through surgery. He said that the hospital is also handing over the money to the mothers.
According to Ram Lakha Mandal of the hospital's administration section the government-allocated funds are far from enough to cover all the expenses of maternal service. "The money simply is not enough to cover the cost," he said.
Dr Sunil Kumar Kushwaha, acting medical superintendent of Rau Hospital, said that he is unaware about how the funds are used as he is newly elected. "Dr Mirshi Lal was the chief earlier. I do not have any knowledge about how he administered the hospital," he said. "Government services should not be misused. I'll see what I can do to change things around," he added.
Sources at the hospital claimed that hospital's administration have been producing counterfeit bills to charge the patients and fill their pockets illegally.
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