A Zimbabwean woman was left baffled when she was asked to settle a bill of more than R7 000 before she could have her 10-month-old son discharged from the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital in Limpopo, after he had undergone an operation.

The baby of Yvonne Moyo from Tshikota was admitted at the hospital on February 7 to have a lump that had developed in his neck, surgically removed.

The operation was performed on February 9, and he was supposed to be discharged the next day. When she prepared to take her child home she was, however, requested to pay R7 640.

She says that she was told that if she failed to pay the amount, the hospital management would not allow her to go home.

Moyo adds she is very grateful for the surgery that now enables her child to live like other children, but that she did not have that kind of money as she is unemployed.

She claims she was being discriminated against because she is Zimbabwean, and says that if she had been a local, they would have allowed her to go home immediately.

“My life has been turned into a nightmare. I have not had a moment of peace since I was told to pay the money. I need urgent assistance and plead with a good Samaritan to come to my rescue, so I can pay the hospital bill. My family depends on piece jobs and the money is too little to cover medical needs as well,” she explains.

The spokesperson for the Limpopo Department of Health, Thilivhali Muavha, says patients need to pay for services rendered at the hospital.

“If the local people don’t have money, we make payment arrangements. Foreigners, however, must pay the full amount after assistance. In Moyo’s case, the matter was settled as she signed an agreement with the hospital to pay R1 000 and the balance in installments,” he adds.