Dubai A desperate Pakistani father is seeking help to pay medical bills of his premature baby who spent over two months at government run Dubai Hospital.
The child, Khidier Mohammad, now three months old, was born premature at 25 weeks at a private hospital in Sharjah. He was shifted to Dubai Hospital on April 24 for want of better post-natal care. The baby was discharged on July 4 after showing signs of improvement.
The hospital demanded over Dh200,000 from the family for the two-month intensive treatment, including an eye surgery. The family could only arrange Dh20,000.
The distraught father, Mohammad Amir, 32, who is currently jobless, said his son was discharged only after Amir presented a guarantee cheque to the hospital for the pending bill amount.
“I have given two undated cheques — one for Dh50,000 and another for Dh137,655 to Dubai Hospital as a guarantee for taking my son home,” he told XPRESS.
He said: “I don’t have money to settle the hospital bill, but I know something will come up. The hospital has not set any time limit for the cheques to be encashed. The staff of Dubai Hospital have been so supportive to me and I am very thankful to them.”
Amir said the total hospital bill for his child was Dh204,000. An initial deposit of Dh20,000 was paid to the hospital.
He said his son is in good health and his only concern right now is settling the hospital bill.
“I was working for a real estate company but I lost my job over a year ago due to the downturn in the real estate market. My family is currently supported by my brother and my wife’s parents with whom we live.”
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