Kenyatta University Teaching Research and Referral Hospital
(KUTRRH) management has dismissed claims that patients were turned away as a
result of the new social health insurance crisis.
Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Dagane also dismissed reports that
patients were being asked to pay cash for medical services, maintaining that
the hospital has overcome the initial challenges brought by transitioning from
the National Health Insurance Fund to the new system.
Dagane while admitting that the facility faced challenges on
Tuesday when the country transitioned from the old medical cover structure to
the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) said this has been overcome and
services are back to normal.
Patients had complained that they were unable to access
treatment under the new Social Health Authority (SHA) scheme while others
claimed they were asked to pay cash rather than then through the insurance
cover.
"We had some challenges on the first day of the rollout
but that has been overcome. There has been a lot of misinformation that
patients were turned away or asked to pay cash. We want to forestall those
rumours," Dagane stated.
The CEO noted that the facility is coping with the shift
from NHIF to SHIF adding that all patients seeking care at the hospital are
accessing care with or without the new health insurance cover.
“The hospital has treated all patients well and no patient
has been turned away or asked to pay for services in cash. We have actually
sensitized all departments that no patient should be turned away,” Dagane said.
The CEO spoke on Thursday when the hospital hosted Safaricom
Foundation officials led by the Chairman Joseph Ogutu who donated items to new
mothers at the maternity wing.
Dagane who was accompanied by KUTRRH Board Chairperson Prof
Olive Mugenda said the hospital has initiated a partnership with Safaricom
on oncology care, telemedicine and ICT.
“We have held intensive discussions on areas of
collaboration with Safaricom Foundation and a bilateral committee has been
formed to steer the partnership. Safaricom are innovators and supportive in
technology and we will be partnering in areas of oncology as well as
telemedicine,” he said.
Ogutu said Safaricom has been supporting and encouraging new
and expectant mothers to seek antenatal services for the safe delivery of infants.
“We are taking this initiative to health facilities in all
counties and across the county,” Ogutu said.
Earlier, KUTRRH in a statement indicated that they had successfully begun implementing SHA as a key initiative by the Ministry of Health aimed at reducing healthcare costs and promoting universal health coverage across the country.
The statement indicated that the hospital management
reviewed the implementation of SHA across all service areas, assisting patients
in registering and ensuring a smooth transition to the new system.
“The Hospital has already recorded significant benefits
under SHA, particularly in critical departments such as Endoscopy, Renal, and
Chemotherapy,” read the statement in part.
It further indicated upon rollout of SHA, 61 chemotherapy
patients, 39 dialysis patients and 10 patients in the Endoscopy unit, among
others, received care fully covered by SHA, with their bills covered through
the newly rolled-out scheme.
“KUTRRH has established Help Desks at all Customer Care
Units across the hospital to guide patients on the SHA registration process.
These efforts are aimed at ensuring a seamless experience for all our clients
as we strive to improve access to affordable healthcare,” the statement
indicated.