Vt6,000 maternity fee at hospital

Pregnant mothers who wish to have their babies delivered at the Vila Central Hospital(VCH) will have to pay a fee of Vt 6,000.
This is a new increase that came into effect as of January 1, 2011 and is a flat rate regardless whether a mother spends two days or one day at the maternity.

The old rate was Vt600 for one day, and according to a reliable source within the Vila Central Hospital, most mothers spend only two days at the most after giving birth. This would mean that mothers that went to the maternity at the VCH before January 1, 2011would have spent on average around Vt1,200 or Vt1,800.

Mothers who gave birth at the VCH on January 1 up to now would be paying a flat rate of Vt6,000 regardless whether they spend three, two or even just one day at the maternity ward at Vila Central Hospital.

Early this week the Minister of Health authorized outpatients fees to be dropped from Vt300 per patient during normal working hours back to Vt200 and likewise from Vt500 to Vt200 for patients seeking medical treatment after normal working hours.

However the maternity ward fee has been increased from Vt600 per day to Vt 6,000 flat rate as of January 1, 2011.
One mother told Daily Post, “the increase is just above what many mothers can afford. In fact for many young mothers it is what you would need to care for your baby for the next month”.
She added: “I don’t understand the Minister of Health who reduced the outpatients fees back to Vt 200 but then allow this Vt6,000 maternity fees to remain. We wonder if it should not return to Vt 600 per day otherwise many won’t seek better and healthier medical facilities.”