Nairobi Women's Hospital Chief Executive Officer Felix Wanjala has stepped aside to pave way for investigation into claims of financial misconduct as reported by Daily Nation on Saturday, February 8.
This after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Thursday, February 6 suspended the hospital from its list of service providers following a damning exposé about shady ongoings at the facility.
KRA's move proceeded that of several insurance firms who moved to cancel contracts with the facility.
Citing a memo dated Wednesday, February 5, Citizen TV noted that staff had been advised to steer clear of the hospital until a raft of contentious issues between the two parties had been resolved.
The day before, several health insurance providers in the country had published notices announcing the suspension of services from the hospital.
The communication was made in a statement released by the Association of Kenya Insurers and several insurance firms on Tuesday, February 4, after an exposé which indicated that the hospital was exploiting patients to maximize revenue.
A few weeks back, screenshots of conversations alleged to be from a WhatsApp group of the hospital's staffers surfaced online.
The chats indicated that the staffers had set-daily targets that would be realised through the admission of patients to the facility. Something that was reportedly monitored on a daily and hourly basis.
An exposé by Citizen TV lifted the lid on a collaborative scheme between the staff and insurance companies associated with patients who had medical covers by inflating the cost of drugs.
This prompted the facility to announce that it would launch investigations into the allegations, doubting that there was any truth behind it.
"We have noted with a lot of concern reports appearing in various media platforms suggesting that there is some systematic approach by the hospital to generate revenue from patients.
“Although we don’t believe this is the case, and in fact, it is antithetical to our foundational principles, we take these allegations very seriously and are conducting an internal review as well as cooperating with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council as they carry out their independent review,” a statement from the hospital read in part.
The Association of Kenya Insurers has since then urged members of the public to seek services in alternative hospitals adding that they would not refund cash payments or cover services rendered by the hospital.
