Several prosthetists at a state-run oral disease prevention center in South Hamgyong Province were recently arrested for allegedly pocketing fees from patients, Daily NK has learned.
“Three prosthetists at the oral disease prevention center in Hamhung were arrested by agents from the provincial police agency in early July. The arrests occurred after [a patient] reported that the prosthetists were pocketing fees from the dental patients they were supposed to be treating [for free],” a source in the province told Daily NK on Monday.
According to the source, a man in his 60s visited the prosthetics department at the provincial oral disease prevention center in mid-June to have some work done on his dentures. Seeing his shabby clothing, the prosthetists assumed he was a pauper and hesitated to process the patient, waiting for someone else to treat him.
Finally, one of the prosthetists went up to the man and asked if he had brought any money: “It’s 15 bucks per tooth; how many teeth do you want done?”
“If I had any money, I’d have gone to a private practice. Why do you think I came to a [public] hospital?” the man retorted. “When a patient comes in, you’re supposed to ask them what’s ailing them, rather than squeezing them for money. Is this a capitalist country?”
The man later reported the incident to the provincial party committee and provincial police agency, the source said.
Neither the party committee nor the provincial police bothered to respond initially, but the man refused to give up. Instead, he kept visiting both offices for ten days until he managed to arrange meetings with the committee secretary and the head of the provincial police agency. He then proceeded to tell them about the prosthetists’ behavior and the humiliation he had suffered at the oral disease prevention center.
His persistence must have paid off because the police then arrested the prosthetists at the oral disease prevention center and is currently carrying out an investigation into the man’s claims.
Skillful prosthetists in North Korea can make good money if they quit their hospital jobs and treat individuals at home. Prosthetists with private practices typically charge USD 10 per tooth and USD 80-200 for a set of dentures, the source said.
As a result, most struggling North Koreans cannot afford treatment at private practices and are forced to visit state-run clinics.
“Due to this incident, people have learned that prosthetists at state-run clinics are profiting [by forcing patients to pay for nominally free services]. For that reason, I don’t think the individuals who were arrested by the police will be let off the hook,” the source said.
The provincial party committee is also carrying out an in-depth investigation into the anti-socialist and non-socialist behavior taking place inside the provincial oral disease prevention center, the source added.
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