More Pain To Patients and Families KNH As Announces Annual Increase on Charges

 By Virginia Nyambura

Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Kenya’s biggest referral hospital, has announced that it will be increasing charges on its patient charges annually for five years as it seeks to raise billions of shillings to upgrade the facility.

During the launch of the referral’s five-year strategic plan, ending in the year 2023, the hospital reported that the annual adjustments will enable the facility put in billions into the construction of new cancer and rental units, new buildings, renovations, a perimeter wall and CCTV cameras installation.

The hospital hopes to raise 31.4 billion shillings from patient fees starting this 2018 and plans to spend 95 billion shillings, including Sh10.7 billion shillings on upgrades during the period. The plan also stated that cost-sharing fees would be reviewed annually during the implementation of the strategic plan resulting five percent increase in revenue per annum.

Patient charges were last reviewed in 2016 and the expected increase in charges is obviously sad news to the majority of Kenyans who are poor and can barely afford a single meal a day. The hospital is already home to a huge number of patients who have recovered but cannot be released because of outstanding bills. It is overly relied on not just as a regular hospital but mostly as the National referral facility offering specialized treatment.

The increase of the charges will, however, not affect prices of the hospital’s normal wards as it will remain at 800 shillings a day for the sake of the poor citizen.

Patients pay 4000 shillings every day from the 2000 shillings at the general ward of the private wing while bed charges at the VIP ward, private wing, rose to Sh20, 000 a day from Sh18, 000 with single-room wards rising to Sh6, 000 from Sh4, 000.

Most Kenyan citizens will, therefore, be forced to add to the congestion in the normal wards at the facility.

Healthcare in the country has risen despite being included in the Big Fours’ Government Agenda with the hope of making healthcare more affordable.

KNH has added to the list of private hospitals increasing consultation, admission and specialist charges.

The increased medical care charge has been blamed on the increased cost of medicine and equipment following a volatile foreign exchange rate, imports levy, higher taxes.

The referral hospital intends to set aside 891 million shillings for a perimeter wall and CCTV cameras. CCTV cameras have become a necessity after security hitches that put the hospital in a bad light.

It allocated 1.5 billion shillings for the upgrade of information technology infrastructure while 2.9 billion shillings was allocated for new buildings together with renovations.

Out of the 95 billion shillings five-year budget, KNH hopes to receive 57.9 billion shillings from the Treasury allocations.

Despite unemployment in the country, amid the Government’s numerous never-ending promises, life in Kenya has become and continues to be, unbearably unaffordable with most Kenyan’s hopes shattering on the achievement of the Big Four Agenda’s.