HARARE – A private hospital in Mutare is allegedly keeping a 75-year-old patient against her will in a bid to force her family to settle a US$2,200 medical bill, the High Court has heard.
Witness Mavambire has filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court seeking an order compelling Exclusive Medcare Hospital to release his mother, Marita Manyore.
He claims she is being “illegally detained” and “held against her will.”
According to court papers, Manyore was admitted on February 10 after being referred for emergency treatment. Mavambire says her attending physician later discharged her after she recovered.
However, hospital authorities allegedly refused to release her until the outstanding bill was settled.
The bill, initially US$1,070, has reportedly risen to US$2,200 as the days passed.
In the application filed through lawyers Peggy Tavagadza and Tatenda Sigauke of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Mavambire states that his attempts to negotiate payment terms were rejected.
He says he first offered US$200 and proposed monthly instalments of US$500. He later managed to raise US$500 with the help of his siblings, but the hospital allegedly turned down the offer.
The dispute escalated during a meeting on February 26 with the hospital’s director.
According to Mavambire, the director “advised that she was not going to release Manyore and that she would hold on to her until the amount is paid in full.”
Mavambire says he was shocked to learn the bill had climbed to US$2,200. He accuses the hospital of using his elderly mother as “a human lien.”
His lawyer, Christopher Ndlovu, said the continued confinement is unlawful and that the accumulating charges are worsening the situation daily.
“The unlawful detention is ongoing and the bills continue to accrue and get out of reach of the applicant each day his mother remains detained,” Ndlovu wrote in an affidavit.
Citing Section 50(7) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the application argues that the High Court has the authority to order the release of any person reasonably believed to be unlawfully detained.
Mavambire contends that his mother’s constitutional rights to liberty, freedom of movement and dignity are being violated.
“There is every indication that the continued detention is to induce payment and is in breach of her constitutional rights,” he submits, noting that she continues to accrue costs at a facility where she is no longer receiving treatment.
While expressing gratitude for the medical care previously provided, Mavambire argues that the hospital’s current actions amount to a “gross injustice.”
“I commit to paying off the debt within a reasonable time,” he states. “But the contractual obligations cannot support this violation to continue unabated.”
He further argues that the hospital would suffer no prejudice if Manyore is released, as it retains the right to pursue the debt through legal channels.
“They can still sue for the debt. They need not exercise a lien on a human being,” he says.
Describing the matter as urgent, the application states that it cannot wait for the normal court roll and that the balance of convenience favours immediate release to give effect to fundamental constitutional rights.
The matter is pending.
Source: ZimLive
The post Hospital detains patient ‘against her will’ over $2k bill appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.