Medical services in some public hospitals in Nairobi County were disrupted on Monday morning after doctors staged a demonstration over their medical covers. They said the county has not given them a comprehensive medical cover.
The doctors, who picketed outside Governor Johnson Sakaja’s office, were from Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, Mbagathi Hospital and the Pumwani Maternity Hospital.
They said their comprehensive medical cover from the national insurer has not been renewed since July 2022.
Dr Deogracious Maero, the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union (KMPDU) chair, Nairobi Branch, said that since the new government took over, county doctors have been paying their hospital dues out-of-pocket as their National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) contributions have not been remitted.
In a statement by the union bosses, they alleged that the Nairobi County executive attempted to transfer the comprehensive medical insurance for doctors from NHIF to a private insurer without consulting them.
“We pay Sh1,700 every month but we do not get treated. We do not need a private cover but a comprehensive NHIF cover,” he said.
Malindi Chao, KMPDU Secretary General Nairobi Branch, said that patients who need services from any of the three hospitals should go to Kenyatta National Hospital.
Dr Maero said that the doctors will picket every day until they get a comprehensive medical cover from the national insurer.