Outrage as China hospital slaps 70-US-cent fee on patient for use of chair during treatment
- Health authority says fee imposed for sitting down while receiving an intravenous infusion is in line with regulations
A hospital in China has stoked controversy by charging a patient for the use of a chair they were sitting on while receiving an intravenous infusion.
On mainland social media at the end of June, a person released a billing statement by the public-funded Ningxia Children's Hospital, which showed that five yuan (70 US cents) had been charged for a seat, Zonglan Video reported.
It is not clear how old the patient was, or what they were being treated for, but the bill showed the medication contained antibiotics.
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An official at the hospital in Yinchuan in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, northwestern China, said the fee was for two days' use of a chair by the patient who was sitting on it while receiving an infusion.
The hospital has responded to the controversy by saying the fee is in line with official regulations. Photo: Shanghai Observer/video grab
"Charging this fee is in line with the regulations of the pricing authority. We would definitely not collect fees randomly," the official said.
Ningxia Healthcare Security Administration, which is responsible for setting up and supervising prices in hospitals, confirmed there was no problem with the hospital charging the fee.
"We have such a regulation that hospitals can charge five yuan a time for using a bed during the infusion process, and for half of that price for using a chair," an official from the administration said.
The controversial chair fee has become the subject of heated discussions on mainland social media, after being viewed 5 million times on Douyin alone.
"Hospitals are so commercial. I feel speechless about this fee," one online observer said.
"It's the first time I've heard of this kind of cost in a hospital. Is there anything left that they do not charge fees for?" said another person.
"Are ordinary people now expected to bring their own chair to see doctors from now on," a third said.
Online observers have asked if patients will have to take their own chairs with them when they visit hospital. Photo: Shutterstock
It is not the first time hospital seating fees have caused controversy.
In 2011, the mainland media revealed that a major health centre in eastern China's Shandong province for charging three yuan for the use of a chair.
After the incident triggered a public backlash, the local authority ordered all publicly-run hospitals to cancel fees involving the use of chairs, heating and rubbish disposal.
However, in 2016, when Chuncheng Evening News in southwestern Yunnan province reported that some big hospitals collected bed and chair fees, the provincial health authority backed the institutions saying they conformed to regulations.
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