Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala wants the county general hospital delinked from the upcoming Sh10 billion teaching and referral hospital to reduce patients fees.
The senator said on Tuesday he will lead in collecting signatures to file a public petition in the county assembly.
He said the cost of treatment at the Kakamega County Referral Hospital has soared and many poor residents have shied away from seeking services there. “It was a mistake for the general hospital to have been annexed to the referral facility, because this has led to increased charges. As leaders, we must come in to correct the anomaly,” Malala said.
For example, a hernia operation that cost Sh3,500 is now being done for Sh25,000. An ultrasound that cost Sh800 now costs Sh1,400.
The new charges announced last month have been criticised by residents as prohibitive.
Medics have also complained that patients are unable to pay and end up being detained in the hospital for nonpayment of bills.
Malala said he was shocked when he took former councilor Nicholas Mwenesi to the hospital’s ICU and when he died 45 minutes later, the family was slapped with a Sh64,000 bill.
He said the general hospital should be retained to operate independently to deal with the requirements of the poor. Malala said only cases requiring specialised attention should be sent to the referral facility.
“I confirmed that people die, not because their day has come but because they lack money,” Malala said in Kakamega.
He urged the county government and the assembly to reduce the charges during preparation of the Finance Bill.
“We need to formulate policies that are pro-poor for people to benefit from devolution. We should not make life difficult for Kenyans who wanted devolution to move services closer to them,” the lawmaker said.
cost too high
In August last year, Malala had said residents may not be able to afford the cost of treatment at the Kakamega County Teaching and Referral Hospital.
He had said the cost of running the hospital would be too high for the county to manage and charges would be passed on to patients.
“Unless we engage with the national government to support the facility, it will remain a white elephant. Even equipping it will require over Sh2 billion and the national government has not budgeted for that.”
Still in last August, hospital superintendent Dr Victor Zimbulu said quality healthcare is costly and residents “must brace themselves”.
He said though level 5 hospitals are mandated to offer specialised care at low cost, the quality of services is still a major challenge.
“We encourage all Kenyans, especially residents of Kakamega county, to take up NHIF cover to avert catastrophic health expenditure,” Zimbulu said.
won’t fight oparanya
Malala has further said he will not engage in “unnecessary dogfights” with Governor Wycliffe Oparanya but will work with him to benefit of residents.
He, however, accused the county government of being discriminatory in hiring of staff. He claimed women are employed by the county government based on beauty, not qualifications.
In August last year, some leaders raised concerns residents may not afford the cost of treatment at the Kakamega County Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Senator Malala had said the cost of running the hospital would be too high for the county to manage and charges will be passed on to patients.
“Unless we engage with the national government to support the facility, it will remain a white elephant. Even equipping it will require over Sh2 billion and the national government has not budgeted for such money,” he said yesterday.