Free hospital outpatient and in-patient treatment as a public patient

The core feature is public, taxation-funded health insurance under Medicare77 which provides universal access to subsidised medical and pharmaceutical services, and free hospital treatment as a public patient.

Private sector physicians have access to public facilities; however the public sector does not call on the private sector to help with emergencies for public sector patients.

(c) Regulations pertaining to radiological safety, contained in Supreme Decree No. 009-97-EM, setting forth the technical requirements for safety and protection from ionizing radiation, both for workers and for the public and patients undergoing medical exams involving radiation;

PHC provided through the National Health System (NHS): This includes health centres and the regional clinics in rural areas, as well as public hospital out-patient departments.

Moreover, the Committee's scientific consensus is fundamental to the international radiation safety regime, critically underpinning the international standards2 for protecting the public, workers and patients against ionizing radiation.

With regard to treatment, Botswana has now embarked on full antiretroviral therapy at public hospitals for all patients who opt for the treatment.

In 2002, about 900 HIV/AIDS patients received public service care.The rights of sufferers The situation remains essentially as explained in paragraph 422 of the initial report.

It is convening expert group meetings in the second half of 2009 to address the future collection of data relating to public, occupational and medical patient exposures.

(b) It is stated in paragraph 47 of the report that patients in public clinics have continued to receive only partial courses of treatment.