Parliamentary Committee on Health chairperson Mathews Ngwale has called on Malawians to report any instances of being forced to pay bribes for health services that are supposed to be provided for free in public hospitals.
Ngwale was speaking in an interview yesterday following social media reports alleging that some staff at Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe are demanding money from patients for gynaecological services such as scanning.
Unconfirmed reports also suggest that patients are required to pay a minimum of K10 000 to receive attention in the hospital’s gynaecology ward.
Ngwale said: “We have been hearing of these claims, but unfortunately, we have never received an official complaint, making it difficult to follow up. We will be starting our quarterly committee meetings shortly and this issue will be considered.”
Meanwhile, Malawi Health Equity Network executive director George Jobe has called on authorities to investigate the allegations and hold the culprits accountable.
In an interview, Jobe also proposed the installation of CCTV cameras in health facilities as a measure to curb such malpractices.
