A private hospital's refusal to release an elderly patient over an unpaid bill has landed Exclusive Medcare Hospital in the Mutare High Court on an urgent application.
Exclusive Medcare Hospital holds a patient over an unpaid bill
Exclusive Medcare Hospital holds a patient over an unpaid bill
- Marita Manyore, a 75-year-old from Murambinda in Buhera District, has been held for nearly two weeks.
- Exclusive Medcare Hospital refused to let her go until the full bill was cleared.
- Her specialist already signed off on her discharge, as she no longer needed specialized care.
- Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights wrote to the hospital, calling the whole thing illegal and unethical.
- Manyore's tab sat at US$1,070 when the family first pushed for her release on February 15.
- A US$200 upfront offer with two monthly US$500 instalments got shot down flat.
- By February 19, the hospital had bumped the total to US$1,440 and still rejected a US$500 payment.
- A February 26 meeting revealed the bill had ballooned further to US$2,200.
- Witness Mavambire filed an urgent chamber application at the Mutare High Court on February 28.
- Lawyers Tatenda Sigauke and Peggy Tavagadza argued that the detention is purely a debt-collection tactic.
- Manyore's constitutional rights are being trampled by a billing dispute, per the legal team.
- The Mutare High Court has yet to schedule a hearing date.
