Angry KNH patients storm Ministry of Health offices over SHA failures

Patients at the Kenyatta National Hospital on Wednesday stormed the Ministry of Health offices to lament the lack of operationalization of the Social Health Authority (SHA).

Patients decried frustrations with the newly rolled out health cover, which they insist has not been working.

Some of them fulminated against how they had wandered around the hospitals’ offices and even been forced to visit SHA offices, in vain.

A section of those who spoke to Citizen Digital said that despite making payments to SHA accounts,  the hospital had denied them services with an excuse that SHA systems are down and that the payments do not reflect in the hospital database.

“Some people have come from Kibwezi and others have come from Mombasa; SHA is not working and they are not approving. From Wednesday last week they say the systems are down,” a patient complained.

One of the female patients identified only as Diana, said she has been unable to receive her treatment for close to two weeks with the hospital still giving the same excuse.

According to Diana, the hospital has been decrying system failure but at the same time, the authority was processing payments, even six months upfront.

“I had a CS (Caesarean section) done two weeks ago and I had some complications then I came to Kenyatta. I was told that nothing was going to happen and that I wouldn't be treated unless SHA was approved. We have walked from Kenyatta to SHA house and they have just been sending us from office to office and then told that systems are down,” she said.

“System ziko chini aje na pesa zinaingia? You are told to pay 6 months upfront, pesa inaingia, it is not hanging, but we are not getting treated because Kenyatta they are saying SHA is not working, mara OTP haijatumwa.”

She says that people have been stranded for days outside the hospital and the response from the Authority remains the same.

People are stranded outside the hospital because they can’t be treated unless SHA is approved…kazi ni kuzungushwa tu, ukienda hapa unaambiwa enda huku kwingine

Another irate patient added, “ We have walked into the offices of NHIF, I have even gone to the ICT department, pre-authorization and they are not able to give us any access.

The development comes even after President Wiliam Ruto last month reassured Kenyans that the challenges with accessing healthcare since the October transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority (SHA) would be ironed out.

Speaking during the 11th National and County Governments Coordinating Summit at State House, Nairobi, Ruto said the challenges Kenyans are experiencing with the new healthcare scheme, which he recently rebranded as Taifa Care, were due to its “scale and ambition.”

“Taifa Care is overcoming technological and operational challenges to ensure that every citizen, regardless of status or means, has access to quality, affordable healthcare,” he said.

“For the record, the scale, boldness, and ambition of Taifa Care are unprecedented, and we are confident that the challenges will be resolved soon.”