By Doh James Sonkey
The Director General of the Saint Jean de Malte Hospital in Djombe-Penja, Littoral region, Michel Vautrot has revealed that in 2023 the hospital finished the year “with an unpaid bill of FCFA 12 million because most patients we treated first did not pay their hospital bills.” He was speaking last June 3, 2024 while receiving a delegation of the media led by the Communication Consultant at the Technical Secretariat of the French Debt Relief and Development Contract, C2D, Jean Paul Tchomdou.
The Hospital Director General further explained that, “when a patient comes to our hospital, we treat him/her first before activating administrative documents for the payment of his or her bill. We are the only hospital in the zone doing social health coverage 24/24h. Many patients are referred to our hospital due to the absence of technical equipment at Government Hospitals in Mbanga and in Loum.”
Michel Vautrot added that “the Ministry of Public Health of Cameroon has since 2023 been according us with a subvention of FCFA 15 million. This amount will be of great help to this Catholic and Private hospital.”
He said “the Sovereign Military Order of Malta accord us with support each year that covers unpaid bills and other expenses, if not we could have not been functioning till now.”
The hospital was created in 1996 and in 2000 it has since been managed by the Sovereign State of Malta. They organised at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel
last June 8, 2024, a gala night to explain to the public the utility of the hospital.
The Deputy Director General of the Saint Jean Hospital of Malta said “We had the third C2D of about FCFA 700 million to ameliorate our health facilities; C2D enabled us to construct expanded laboratories for women and child health etc.”
According to Dr Atefack Paulin, Coordinator of the Laboratory Ward section, “we first had a little laboratory constructed in 1996 and with time many patients were coming in and we could no longer welcome everybody in total serenity but thanks to C2D, we constructed this new large laboratory you are seeing. The most important thing is that it was constructed in the standard of a modern laboratory.”
The Head of the General Medicine section at the Saint Jean de Malte Hospital, Dr Ndoumbe Francois said “our surgery ward was constructed by C2D. C2D also enabled the hospital management to renovate the surgery ward.”
Talking to the press, the DG of the Hospital, Michel Vautrot explained that, “our collaboration with C2D is excellent and the Ministry of Public Health is following up our files very closely. We have 160 permanent staff, 40 students on internship etc. The French Debt Relief and Development Contract contributed enormously in the care taking of patients. We elaborated a lab with blood bank which enables us to take care of all victims of road accidents on our highways. C2D also enabled the pediatric section to enlarge its beds for hospitalization and to create a service of neonatal care which takes care of the premature of 32 weeks. The surgery ward was also renovated with four halls for intervention which are operational today. The emergency service was also raised to 8 hospital beds and beds for children. This funding from C2D enabled the St Jean de Malte hospital to have a good base and medical equipment.