No mothers, newborns detained over unpaid bills, says Mama Lucy Hospital

Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital has dismissed claims that some mothers and their newborns had been detained at the facility for failing to settle their pending medical bills.

The hospital’s board chairperson Dorcas Kemunto termed the claims unfounded misinformation being propagated by some politicians for reasons best known to them.

“It has come to our attention that certain politicians have accused our facility of inefficiency and detaining women who have delivered babies due to unpaid fees. We categorically deny these allegations and wish to provide you with facts,” Kemunto told reporters at the facility on Tuesday.

She was flanked with the hospital’s CEO Dr Matin Wafula and other board members alongside Komarock MCA Chris Mutumishi.

Kemunto cautioned politicians against defaming the facility threatening legal actions against the culprits if they fail to stop doing so.

“As it’s our tradition, we like to share important information with the public because the narrative about Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital must be accurate, truthful and known due to our services to the masses here. This is the reason why we are here today,” Kemunto said.

“No patient detained at the hospital is a mother who has delivered or has a baby. We have discharge–ins, and that’s not detention,” Kemunto said.

She said they don’t detain people in the facility.

Kemunto said detention in the context was that someone or people who haven’t settled their medical bills are retained in the hospital.

“This facility serves 900 mothers every month, 900 babies are delivered whether they are single or twins and we attend to over 3, 000 patients daily,” Kemunto said.

She said it was the only public hospital in the city that remained operational during the recent national doctors’ strike and no patient was turned away.

Kemunto said the hospital in this quarter alone, between January and March, gave Sh4.5 million to vulnerable patients.

She said out of that, Sh1.1 million was an exempted amount for individuals who don’t pay services in public facilities, they include persons living with disabilities.

“The claims are unfounded and lack evidence. These politicians haven’t provided any specific instances, dates or numbers to support their accusations,” Kemunto said.

Kemunto said while they operate on a Fee – for – Service and capitation model which often faces delays, they strive to provide the best possible care to all patients regardless of their financial situations.

“Despite having a 260-bed capacity, we currently admit and care for 550 inpatients daily, highlighting our dedication to serving the community even under strained resources. We urge leaders and stakeholders to seek the facts and understand the challenges we face before making public accusations,” Kemunto said.

Kemunto, however, noted that those who send letters requesting fee waivers must recognise the financial strain those requests place on the facility.

“To continue providing quality healthcare, we need to ensure that our operations are sustainable. We call on the public and our leaders to support us in our mission and help address challenges we face rather than misinformation,” she said.

The CEO Dr Matin Wafula said the board had registered lots of achievements since it was instituted six months ago by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.

He said other than the development achieved by the facility as listed by Kemunto, they had equally expanded the hospital through the construction of more buildings.

“We haven’t had a dental unit in this facility for long, since the hospital was established. For the first time, it’s here,” Wafula said.

Wafula said the achievements were due to the support given to them by Sakaja.

“Public service is our job. We attend to 3, 800 patients, conduct more than 20 caesarians, and over 40 mothers deliver in the facility daily. We for the first time have enough drugs in the hospital. It was the only hospital that attended to 80 per cent of the gas explosion fire victims in Embakasi,” Wafula said.

“In last year December, Sakaja waived Sh4 million in medical bills for patients, early this year he waived Sh4.5 million. After each three months, we wave a total of Sh29 million. These are waivers that help not only Nairobi residents, but hundreds of Kenyans across the country,” Wafula said.

Wafula said they on Monday reunited a father with his child who had gone missing for the last five years. The child had been rescued and taken to the hospital where he has since been raised.

“Each week we rescue abandoned children. We currently have 15 of such in our wards. We feed, treat, wash, dress and generally raise them with the hospital’s resources. Nobody is talking about all these good gestures,” Wafula said.