Give patients the best service, Mudavadi tells public hospitals

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has urged all public health facilities to scale up their operations and deliver quality services to Kenyans.

According to Mudavadi, a majority of Kenyans seek medical treatment at the government-managed health facilities, which he said act as back-stoppers for those who cannot easily access or are denied private facilities.

He, however, regretted that Kenyans have had to deal with substandard services in the facilities, a situation that should change.

“It has become almost a tradition in government health facilities that, on any given day, there is either no personnel on duty to attend to patients or if present, staff offer substandard services to poor patients,” Mudavadi regretted.

Lack adequate drugs

He said a majority of government health facilities do not have adequate drugs other than painkillers and patients are directed to private pharmacies with links to government health facility staff.

“It is common knowledge that medicines destined for government health facilities find their way, by way of diversion, to private chemists. We need to sort out this duel, and most times, conflict of interest co-existence in the health sector,” Mudavadi said.

He urged Health Cabinet Secretary, Susan Nakhumicha that in conjunction with County Governments, they should crack down on this thriving criminal enterprise that is condemning Kenyans to an early death by stealing their drugs.

“Whenever County Governments run out of funds to procure drugs from Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA), let us be magnanimous to provide the drugs on credit. Let County Governments owe KEMSA rather than the other way around. To avoid defaulting by County Governments, there should be agreements to deduct the money owed at source by the Exchequer,” advised Mudavadi.

At the same time, the PCS urged Kenyans to change their approach from condemning or undermining beneficial policy like universal healthcare to asking relevant questions regarding implementation and operation.

“For instance, I will be more than willing to engage on how a contributor to NHIF can get the best treatment. Alternatively, we should offer solutions to teething problems at government health facilities, KEMSA and NHIF for effective and efficient management,” he stated.

Affordable cover

He also said that the Government is aware of cartels in the medical insurance business who fear NHIF affordable cover is taking clients away from them and operate under cover of paid politicians.

“Let me caution them that Kenya is a free market country and the best they can do is compete fairly by bringing down their exaggerated charges. But you should not engage in disrupting government commitment to provide Universal Healthcare to its people,” he warned.

According to Mudavadi, it is not only unethical but also criminal for hospitals to inflate charges on NHIF bills for substandard treatment, even as he stated that the government will not be lenient.

“If this illegality is being carried with connivance of NHIF workers, the Minister for Health in conjunction with criminal investigative agencies are hereby directed to take the necessary severe action to crack down and stop the draining of NHIF funds by such criminal enterprises in the health sector,” Mudavadi stated.