【明報專訊】IT was as early as 2012 when the Audit Commission found that private hospitals whose land had been granted "at nil or nominal premium" had failed to provide low-charge beds for patients in accordance with land grant provisions. The issue dragged on for seven years and remains unresolved. As private hospitals do not inform patients of the availability of low-charge beds on their own initiative, patients have to ask doctors about them so as to use them. This demonstrates the government's failure to enforce the regulations adequately, and this has resulted in a waste of resources and the lack of protection of patient rights. The intentions of the policies are left unfulfilled. This exposes a bigger problem, i.e. a failure to monitor government policies. The government should take remedial action.