Baringo Governor questioned over Ksh.2.2M hospital bill waivers for patients not enrolled in SHA

The committee, chaired by Senator Godfrey Osotsi, met Governor Cheboi and his executive team to scrutinise an Auditor General report highlighting multiple deficiencies in Baringo’s public hospitals during the 2024/2025 financial year. 

Among the concerns raised were missing equipment, inadequate staffing, and human resource irregularities across both Level 4 sub-county hospitals and the Level 5 Baringo County Referral Hospital (BCRH).

The senators raised an alarm over the SHA irregularities, highlighting that the practice violates the Social Health Authority Regulations 2024, which require a valid SHA number for all claims.

In response, Governor Cheboi defended the waivers, stating that the majority of the Baringo residents lacked proper identification documents, hence making it impossible to register for SHA. 

"A significant portion of our population in Baringo lacks national identity documents, making SHA registration impossible. We are often forced to choose between strict legal compliance and the human necessity of releasing a body from the mortuary or treating an indigent patient," the governor stated. 

Further, the Senators pressed the governors over the lack of equipment in Level 4 and Level 5 hospitals, questioning how the residents access quality healthcare. 

"Governor, the Auditor General has visited these hospitals, physically verified what is there and what is not there, and put it in writing. We are not dealing with opinions here; we are dealing with facts on the ground," Osotsi stated. 

"The people of Baringo were told these are Level 4 and Level 5 hospitals. Our question today is very simple: what exactly does that mean for a patient who walks through those doors?"  

Acknowledging the gaps, Cheboi noted challenges in aligning hospital classifications with available resources. 

"We are operating in a complex environment where the classification of a hospital often outpaces the arrival of specialized equipment. At Eldama Ravine, for instance, we have finally formed an asset management committee to ensure we recognize and depreciate our assets properly, a step that was previously ignored," he noted. 

The Auditor's report also found 730 casual employees across the county’s hospitals, including 222 at the Level 5 referral hospital, with some technical staff on three-month rolling contracts for up to ten years. 

This, the Auditor indicated, violated the Employment Act and the County Public Service Human Resource Manual. 

"You cannot tell us that you do not have money to pay permanent nurses when you are already paying the same nurses on a three-month basis for ten years. The money is going out regardless. The only thing you are saving is their pension and their job security. That is not a saving the law allows you to make," Osotsi pointed out. 

In response, Governor Cheboi stated, "The wage bill is a heavy chain around our neck. While we admit that the engagement of technical staff on renewable three-month contracts is widespread, we have used Facility Improvement Funds to keep these hospitals running."

"We are now working on a plan to regularize these staff through the Public Service Board, but we must balance this against our fiscal envelope."

The committee adjourned with plans for a physical inspection of BCRH and the development of a management action plan to regularize long-serving technical staff.