‘Free healthcare disastrous’
Other Voices
TBy Ahmad alsarraf
here are big economic, cultural and social differences between the developed, underdeveloped and backward countries and societies. The latter is more committed to religious rituals and pays attention to the accompanying manifestations, exaggerate the honor of performers and exaggerate hostility of those who fail to do so, and that’s all.
In developed societies, people are more committed and responsible and care to pay taxes, insist on participating in the political process, hold their representatives in the Parliament accountable, are more committed to working hours, standing in queues, protecting the environment, public property and natural resources.
It is but natural to see the opposite in backward societies, non-appreciation or respect for and of everything given free by the state. Recently, the retirees in Kuwait received free medical treatment in any of the hospitals or private medical centers through the ‘Afiya’ program but this ‘free’ service has affected the morals of a large proportion and has deteriorated the health others.
It is a known fact that the number of patients in any remote area with no hospital increases suddenly with the opening of a new hospital. Prior to this, if people were sick, they postponed the visit to the hospital until the next morning because of the distance and difficulty in getting to the hospital, and often discovered by morning their pain had disappeared but the presence of the hospital in the vicinity seems to have encouraged many to visit hospital at the least given opportunity.
The above example applies to some retirees who benefit from the Afiya service. A big percentage of these people were reluctant to go to the government hospital for one reason or another, but once the Afiya system was introduced, the visits of the retirees to the private hospitals became almost a routine because it is a free service.
The large increase in the number of patients, mainly those who are not sick and need no treatment, has opened the appetite of many doctors, including consultants to prescribe medications, treatments or tests that may not be needed by the patient.
Some well-known medical centers have reacted to the exploitative wave and the disbursement of medicines has become profitable, despite the lack of urgency which otherwise causes more harm than good for the health of those patients with intent and these medical outlets see it as a way to make a quick buck.
It has become a routine to send patients for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT scan, X-ray and others despite the risk of repeated exposure to magnets and waves which can have adverse side effects. It has become normal for the consultant to refer his visitor at the government hospital to his private clinic and because of this the queue at their clinics has become tiring due to the pressure of some retirees who believe that they should spend the last dinar allocated to them in health cards so long as medical treatment is free.
In fact they are unaware of the disadvantages of repeated medical examinations and the harm it brings to their body because of a large number of patients, the seriousness of exposure to radiation of medical devices, and the possibility of ending the balance in their credit which they may require in future.
Both the official media and the Afiya company are called upon to intensify their efforts and educate Kuwaiti retirees about the risks of unjustified treatment and the impact on public money.
The higher the claims of retirees are, the greater the cost of insurance in the future will be.