The health authorities have proposed setting up a
government-backed foundation to assist the poor with medical
emergencies and serious diseases, following the death of a pregnant
migrant woman in a Beijing hospital.
"We have submitted a proposal to the department in charge to set
up a State foundation for health assistance to the poor," Mao
Qun'an, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said at a press
conference in Beijing yesterday.
Li Liyun, a 22-year-old who was in her ninth month of pregnancy,
died of severe pneumonia at Jingxi Hospital on November 21 after
her husband refused to let doctors perform a Caesarean section on
her.
The migrant worker came with her husband from Hunan Province and
lived in the western suburbs of Beijing. The husband, Xiao Zhijun,
works at a restaurant drawing a monthly salary of 700 yuan
($95).
Local daily Beijing Times reported that Li had received scant
medical attention before she sought emergency treatment at Jingxi
Hospital.
Generally, an expectant mother would have about 12 prenatal
exams. But her husband had taken her to a private clinic only twice
to be treated for a cold.
The hospital had offered to do a Caesarean free of charge but
the husband did not believe it. The Beijing Times also quoted him
as saying that he thought doctors had made things worse.
"We came here to treat the cold, not to deliver the baby. There
is one month left (for delivery). They should let her recover from
the cold and then she can give birth without the operation," he had
said.
In Beijing, a normal delivery in a hospital costs about 5,000
yuan, while a Caesarean costs about 7,000 yuan.
The husband said at the time that he had spoken to government
departments about getting free maternity services but had not found
any policy to assist mothers-to-be such as Li.
The government has in place a basic health insurance network for
urban residents, but migrant workers do not qualify because they
are not permanent residents.
"We have seen that there are few effective channels to help the
poor when they are suffering from serious diseases," Health
Ministry spokesman Mao said in Beijing.
Hospitals, especially public ones, have a responsibility to save
lives, he said. But about 10 billion yuan worth of services at
public hospitals had not been claimed by the end of last year.
A government foundation will help solve the problem, he said,
adding that hospitals and the foundation could share the
responsibility of helping the poor.
Li's death also raised a furor among the media and the public
over whether the hospital should have performed surgery without the
husband's consent, given the seriousness of the woman's
condition.
The hospital said at a press conference on November 24 that Li
and her child were in critical condition and that a Caesarean
operation was needed.
Doctors had clearly explained the situation to the husband and
spent three hours trying to persuade him and promised free surgery,
it said.
The Beijing municipal health department later said on November
28 that its own investigation had found that the hospital acted in
accordance with relevant codes.
(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2007)