Person Ill with Cancer Cannot Enjoy State Program

Eter Partenadze has cancer, but she does not receive medical assistance provided within state program for this category of people.

58-year-old Eter Partenadze with cancer on her pancreas suffers from unbearable pains. At the moment she needs morphine. Family members of Eter Partenadze should take corresponding prescription and medical form #100 from cancer centre to receive free medicaments. But former patient owes 1 800GEL for the operation since last year, and the center refuses to assist her.
“She has unbearable pains. We told director that we had no money to pay at the moment and he replied he would give us the document to take morphine if we pay 1800 GEL” said the son of the sick woman.

Partenadze really did not pay and left the hospital without doctor’s permission in several days. Family of Partenadze has no insurance card and is not registered in the data base of socially disabled people, the family lives in very poor social conditions.

Cancer centre denies they refused to give prescription for morphine to Partenadze because of non-payment. “This is slander. Her relatives have not applied to me” said the chief doctor Jemal Shotashvili.

Morphine is given to patients with 4th clinical stage of cancer within the state program “oncologic-incurable”. For this procedure, the sick person should hold prescription issued by cancer center and form #100. 660 000 GEL was allocated for the program from the central budget.

Maka Malakmadze, Adjara