For already five months a state program of delivery aid is conducted in Armenia, according to which each pregnant woman is given an identity card to enjoy any kind of medical services related to pregnancy and obstetric free of charge. But according to the complaints addressed to the special hot line of the Ministry of Healthcare illegal collection of money is still continued at maternity hospitals.<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry in July of this year 60 people out of 140 applying to the hot line complained of the medical institutions\u2019 work realizing obstetric.<\/p>\n
Karine Saribekyan, head of Mother-Baby Healthcare Department of the Ministry of Healthcare says people have complained of both extortion and confusion caused at medical institutions, particularly in regard to free and paid services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe woman is offered a paid ward, telling as if the free ones are busy. Moreover sometimes it is offered also to share a paid ward with another patient. This is illegal and people should be aware of this. In this respect many complaints were especially received to the address of the medical center \u201cShengavit\u201d,\u201d says Karine Saribekyan.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For already five months a state program of delivery aid is conducted in Armenia, according to which each pregnant woman is given an identity card to enjoy any kind of medical services related to pregnancy and obstetric free of charge. But according to the complaints addressed to the special hot line of the Ministry of Healthcare illegal collection of money is still continued at maternity hospitals.<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry in July of this year 60 people out of 140 applying to the hot line complained of the medical institutions\u2019 work realizing obstetric.<\/p>\n
Karine Saribekyan, head of Mother-Baby Healthcare Department of the Ministry of Healthcare says people have complained of both extortion and confusion caused at medical institutions, particularly in regard to free and paid services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe woman is offered a paid ward, telling as if the free ones are busy. Moreover sometimes it is offered also to share a paid ward with another patient. This is illegal and people should be aware of this. In this respect many complaints were especially received to the address of the medical center \u201cShengavit\u201d,\u201d says Karine Saribekyan.<\/p>\n
In accordance with the government special decision an \u201cObstetrical-Gynecological Hospital Aid\u201d program has been invested since July of this year, and in this respect 1 billion drams has been added to 2, 9 billion drams already allocated out of the 2008 budget for obstetrics.<\/p>\n
According to Vahan Poghosyan, head of the Department on Organizing Medical Aid of the Ministry of Healthcare, due to this program selection of both the maternity and antenatal clinics all over the republic doesn\u2019t induce liabilities. \u201cControl and delivery of the pregnant women are free independent of the clinic preferred by them,\u201d says Poghosyan.<\/p>\n
48 000-124 000 drams is allocated out of the budget per delivery. And in the case of caesarean section the state pays up to 215 000 drams.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Healthcare reports that 11 529 children were born from July to September of this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is that the calls are anonymous, and if the extortion is comprehended as a judicial term, then firstly the evidence should be fixed. But it is impossible, as there hasn\u2019t yet been received any written claim,\u201d says Karine Saribekyan.<\/p>\n
Anyhow she assures those calls not being neglected by the Ministry. For example \u201cShengavit\u201d medical center has thrice been strictly reproved. Saribekyan notes also that the claims were significantly lessened in October making only 5% of the overall calls.<\/p>\n
Alexander Urumyan, the executive director of \u201cShengavit\u201d doesn\u2019t accept the blame addressed to the center.<\/p>\n
\u201cCalls to the hot line may be the initiative of our rivals, who don\u2019t like we are applied to by so many clients and we have been registering a great progress during recent years. The calls are anonymous, and until now we haven\u2019t received any written claim,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cShengavit\u201d is a private clinic, and here the patient is offered also paid extra services \u2013 a deluxe ward and food provision. But Urumyan assures that the center is open for all the pregnant women eager to enjoy their free, usual wards.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday pregnant woman pays only for non-medical extra services,\u201d says the executive director of the hospital. \u201cAnd in the case the clinic is excluded from the state program, all the expenses will be paid by the pregnant. In this case the hospital will lose its expectant mothers, because today a few are ready to pay 300 000 drams for delivery,\u201d says Urumyan.<\/p>\n
Some of the pregnant women assure that in some medical institutions they are demanded money on various pretexts. In such cases Saribekyan advises to select another clinic.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday there is rivalry between all the maternity hospitals, and in the case you are displeased of anything in medical institution you visit, select another one, where irrespective of the services being paid or free, you\u2019ll be treated well,\u201d says Saribekyan.<\/p>\n
And Vahan Poghosyan adds that the government allocates plenty of money for all the services.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext year this program will be realized more strictly,\u201d says Poghosyan and explains that the clinics not appropriately serving their patients will be deprived of the government order.<\/p>\n
5, 9 billion drams (more by 2 billion drams in comparison with last year) is intended to allocate out of the budget for this program in 2009. Thus next year 150 000 drams instead of 124 000 of this year will be allocated for each delivery, and for those by caesarean section \u2013 261 000 drams in lieu of 215 000 drams of this year.<\/p>\n
The article was prepared within the framework of the seminar \u201cRaising the Role of the Media in Covering Justice and Law Enforcement System\u201d, organized by \u201cJournalists for the Future\u201d NGO <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For already five months a state program of delivery aid is conducted in Armenia, according to which each pregnant woman is given an identity card to enjoy any kind of medical services related to pregnancy and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4483,4479],"tags":[],"aboutus":[],"home":[],"authors":[],"position":[],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles-en","category-publications-en"],"yoast_head":"\n