Guyanese gov\'t to pay detained children\'s hospital bill

The Guyanese government has pledged to pay the hospital bill for 10 children who have been detained by an Indian hospital for outstanding money.



They were flown to the Frontier Lifeline Hospital to receive heart surgery by a charity operated by Varshnie Singh, who is the ex-wife of Guyana’s president Bharrat Jagdeo.



Hospital officials say they decided to keep the children at the facility because Singh had amassed thousands of dollars in hospital bills.



They say Singh’s charity had outstanding bills of up to $13,000 from one of her previous six visits to the facility.



Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy says the situation has humiliated the children and the government will ensure that there is no recurrence of the incident.



He says they will be flown back to Guyana as soon as possible.