An in-depth study by the World Health Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows private hospital and doctor prices in South Africa might appear to be equal to those in France and Germany, but South Africans earn less and have a weaker economy.In addition, South Africans undergoing surgical treatment spend less time in hospital than Europeans. On average, South Africans spend three days in hospital after an operation while an average stay in European countries is 4.4 days.Three days was an “exceptionally” short average stay in hospital, said Francesca Colombo, head of healthcare at the OECD. It suggests patients are getting poorer quality healthcare and there are attempts by medical aids to control costs, she said.South Africa was compared to Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and countries in the UK. Th...
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