Dr. Beat Richner, an advisor to the Ministry
of Health, called on the government on Sunday to test doctors working in
private clinics throughout the Kingdom and if they failed, their clinic should
be closed, he said.
He said this after 146 severely ill children
were transferred from private clinics and referral hospitals to Kantha Bopha
hospitals early on Sunday morning.
According to Dr. Richner, the children
suffered from dengue fever and encephalitis. They were improperly treated by
doctors working in private clinics and referral hospitals.
“As advisor to the Ministry of Health, I ask
the Ministry of Health to organize exams for medical doctors working in private
clinics. If they do not pass the exam, their private clinic must be closed,”
wrote Dr. Richner in a post to his Facebook page on Sunday.
He added that his hospitals had spent a lot
of money transferring the sick children from the private clinics and referral
hospitals, where neither a diagnosis was carried out nor a correct treatment
was given. They also kept the patients for too many days to get as much money
as they could, he said.
The pediatric doctor said that no staff at
his hospitals worked at private clinics and no one took money from patients. As
a result, he said, the Kantha Bopha hospitals showed “the best correlation cost/healing
rate” and there was no corruption at all.
Khmer Times was unable to reach the spokesman
at the Ministry of Health for comment.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a
new University of Health Sciences building and to celebrate the university’s
70th anniversary last month, Prime Minister Hun Sen claimed that most doctors
in the country help people and that the mistakes made by some doctors should
not reflect poorly on Cambodia’s larger healthcare sector.
“I do not agree with someone who said that 90
percent of medical doctors are bad. Only 10 percent of doctors are good, so can
the doctors accept this accusation? It seems it is looking down on doctors,”
Mr. Hun Sen said, adding that he and other Cambodians received quality care
from in-country doctors.
However, in February, the premier traveled to
Singapore for his annual health check-up. Mr. Hun Sen argued that his medical
treatment in Singapore did not mean medical treatment inside the country was
poor.
Nevertheless, during the inauguration of the
Sihanouk Province Hospital in February, the premier called on doctors in the
country to help improve the healthcare system and educate the next generation
to be better health professionals.
“We have to recognize that some of our
doctors do not follow the code of conduct and use bad words with patients. Some
hospitals, also, put money above the treatment of their patients,” said the
premier.
Kourch Mengly, who trained to be a doctor in
the US, said earlier this year that nine of 10 doctors in Cambodia were bad,
adding they were arrogant and lacked professionalism, compassion, morals and
gentleness.
Dr. Richner was appointed by the government
to be an advisor to the Ministry of Health in March. He is the founder of the
five Kantha Bopha hospitals in Cambodia, which since 1991 have treated nearly
15 million children, according to information on his website. He believes in
providing high-quality care in whatever conditions and cost.
“Dr. Richner said each child has only one
life, so he decided to provide the best treatment in Cambodia. People thought
it was too expensive for Cambodia. Now, after 25 years, many people recognize
the quality of what we are doing,” said Dr. Denis Laurent, deputy director of
Kantha Bopha hospital in Phnom Penh.
Tin Sokhavuth
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