本帖最后由 ljwscorpio 于 2012-11-30 11:09 编辑
Foreign student told to go home for birth
MORE public hospitals are closing their doors to international students, with Brisbane's Mater Mothers' Hospital joining the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in denying them maternity services.
Claudia Gonzalez, a 27-year-old business student at the University of Queensland, said both inner-city hospitals had denied her admission after she fell pregnant with her first child.
Eventually, she obtained admission at Ipswich Hospital, requiring a two-hour round trip for her fortnightly check-ups.
Access to public medical services has become a key rights issue for overseas students, with public hospitals across the country excluding them even though visa conditions require them to take out health insurance.
Hospitals in Brisbane and Melbourne don't accept international students, on budgetary and capacity grounds, with those in other mainland state capitals reportedly following suit.
While students are accepted in emergencies, many aren't aware of this. Last November the wife of a Monash University student ended up giving birth in a carpark after her husband drove her 22km across Melbourne, bypassing three hospitals that had previously shown them the door.
Some students have been offered places in public hospitals on condition they enrol as private patients, rendering them liable for gap fees of $7000 or more.
Ms Gonzalez, who is due in July, said RBWH had suggested she go home to Chile. "It's not that easy just to go home to deliver the baby."
Pakistani postdoctoral student Shabbir Ahmad's son Rayyan was born in February at Logan Hospital, over 20km from his St Lucia home, after his family had been denied admission to RBWH.
"They say they were full, basically," he said.
Ms Gonzalez said international students were now being advised against planning for babies in Australia.
A spokesman for Queensland Minister for Health Lawrence Springborg said the government would consider the issue.
The government said RBWH lost at least $1.4 million a year on services for overseas students.
It said that, under commonwealth legislation and agreements, overseas students didn't necessarily qualify for the same health services as Australians.
Brisbane hospital will give overseas students obstetric care Listen to MP3 of this story ( minutes)
MARK COLVIN: Overseas students are welcoming an assurance from the Queensland Premier that pregnant students can get access to obstetric services.
The Council of International Students says it became aware last year that overseas students were being refused such care at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
Now the Premier, Campbell Newman, says they will get obstetric care there, providing that they have the appropriate health cover.
The council says there was the same barrier at public hospitals in Melbourne, even for overseas students who had health insurance.
It's now urging Victorian public hospitals to follow Queensland's lead.
Samantha Donovan reports.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: The Council of International Students says the difficulty some overseas students have in getting access to maternity services came to its attention last year when one woman was forced to give birth in a Melbourne car park.
Aleem Nizari is the council president.
ALEEM NIZARI: The husband tried to contact a few hospitals and they were refused care in three Melbourne hospitals and finally when they did receive approval for one of them accepting them as a private patient at high cost during the time, it was too late and I think she had to give birth in the car park of that hospital.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Aleem Nizari says other cases soon began to emerge.
ALEEM NIZARI: Well we first were contacted by a few students who had been refused obstetric care in Brisbane and in some Melbourne hospitals and we were also informed by some of the stakeholders, including insurance providers who had received complaints from the international students who had insurance from them.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: And were these students turning up to hospitals actually ready to give birth or were they just looking for treatment in the lead-up to the birth?
ALEEM NIZARI: Well we had both cases; we had a few who were, who needed emergency healthcare and there were a few who were in the lead-up to their pregnancy.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Did these women though have the necessary student health cover that they must have in conjunction with their visa and had they met the necessary waiting time for obstetric services?
ALEEM NIZARI: Yes they actually do. In most cases it's the families or it's the husband or the wife who comes in as an international student and brings in their partner and usually they have a family health cover, just like any average Australian.
The point that we are making is that the students who are coming here and not accepting any free healthcare services. They are paying for an insurance and those insurance premiums for international students are pretty high actually compared to the average Medicare plans.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: But the position at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital has now been clarified.
The Queensland Premier Campbell Newman recently told the Federal Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans that, provided overseas students have the necessary health insurance and have met the 12 month waiting period for obstetrics, they will be treated at the hospital.
Aleem Nizari from the Council of International Students is relieved by the decision.
He says there haven't been reports of problems in other Queensland hospitals.
But cases have arisen in Western Australia, South Australia and Melbourne in particular.
He says the Council of International Students will continue to lobby state governments to ensure properly insured overseas students have access to obstetric services.
ALEEM NIZARI: We will continue to make sure that the right policies are in place and that students are treated fairly.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: The Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has pointed out to Senator Evans that some international students breach their visa requirements by not having the necessary insurance or by cancelling it, and that hospitals treating these patients face "great difficulties" recovering their costs.
He's asked for the Commonwealth's help in making sure international students do have insurance cover on arrival in Australia, including for maternity services where appropriate.
MARK COLVIN: Samantha Donovan.
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