The Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital provided examinations and operations for nearly 100,000 children and offered pregnancy check-ups for over 8,000 women in December, with all treatments free of charge and without discrimination. 

The hospital’s records, released on January 2, show that 78,418 sick children were examined in the outpatient department and 15,172 critically ill patients were hospitalised.

The facilities also treated 1,633 children for dengue fever and conducted 2,337 open-heart operations and catheterisations in Phnom Penh and 88 in Siem Reap province. 

In the maternity ward Kantha Bopha’s Jayavarman VII Hospital in Siem Reap, 8,646 pregnant women received prenatal care and 1,858 babies were deliveried.

Nuth Sambath, president of the Institute of Medicine, Biology and Agriculture at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, commended the hospital on January 2 for being a model institution in the healthcare sector that has saved many lives – free of charge . 

He attributed the public’s trust in the institution to its ethical, skillful and professional conduct, particularly noting its policy of not charging fees.

“I have noticed many pregnant women and parents seek treatment at the hospital. I saw a lot of people waiting in line to get a number,” he said. 

Sambath noted that some people choose not to use the hospital’s services because they can afford private clinics or the National Paediatric Hospital.

He suggested that families in better financial situations should donate at least $1 per person per month to the Kantha Bopha Foundation Cambodia to help it continue its mission of providing free healthcare. 

“If the government considers the hospital important, it should expand its services to additional areas to alleviate the burden on facilities in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap,” he said.