The lack of transparency and consultation before discontinuing outpatient dispensary services at Aspen Medical-managed Ba and Lautoka hospitals will be an added burden to residents, says Lautoka Residents and Ratepayers Association president Narayan Reddy.
“We received seven complaints today from asthmatic patients who used to visit the Lautoka asthma centre and after visiting the doctor they used to go and get the inhaler free from the hospital pharmacy,” he said.
“That inhaler costs $19.50 in the pharmacy which the people are paying for now. Imagine a person earning $180 a week and buying a $20 inhaler, just one inhaler a week.
“So, if you look at it, the Government is supposed to be trying to put the poverty level down but with this, what has just happened, it’s putting the poverty level up.”
Mr Reddy questioned the need for the Government to be paying Aspen Medical $10million per month considering the recent closure of the outpatient dispensary services.
“If Aspen (has) got enough money there to pay for hired cars, how come they don’t have money to give this free medication. This is wrong.
“If they can pay for hired vehicles and park their brand-new vehicles for this place, then they should have given this free medication to the people.
“$120million a year, the taxpayers of this country are paying Aspen, and we get a pathetic service from them.”
Mr Reddy said members of the public were now being charged $250 to hire an ambulance.
“There is no more ambulance service, they’re charging us for ambulance services; from Banaras to hospital, they’re charging $250.
“Now they’re saying, no, you have to hire a private ambulance. So, most of the things the people had before have been taken away.
“First, they took out the free ambulance service, then they took the ambulance service away, now they’ve taken out the free medication.”
Mr Reddy said the Government must scrutinise its partnership with Aspen Medical.
“The Government should tell Aspen to give the free medication, like the rest of the government hospitals are doing.
“If not, Aspen can go and let the government run the hospital the way it was doing before.”