Samoa's Ministry of Health is struggling to control large numbers of hospital visitors who sometimes take cooking facilities to provide food for patients and themselves.
The Health Minister Mulitalo Siafausa has told Parliament that it is important that patients don't receive too many visitors, particularly noisy ones.
But he told the MPs that it is for the families themselves to decide whether to bring in cooking materials.
In reply to complaints of about the hospitals lack of pillows and sheets, Mulitalo says members of the public have been leaving and taking sheets and pillows belonging to the hospital with them.
The Health minister blames the Ministry'a heavy work load on these issues.
