Nairobi Women's Hospital CEO steps aside amid revenue storm
What you need to know:
- In a short statement on Saturday, Dr Felix Wanjala noted that the claims the facility puts revenue ahead of patient care are "very serious".
- He said he wrote to the board on Saturday afternoon, informing it of his decision to step aside with immediate effect to allow the probe.
- The hospital's troubles began with leaked conversations that showed how the hospital's bosses set daily targets for the number of patients that would be admitted.
- Consequently, Jubilee, Britam, AAR, Old Mutual and CIC Group said they will no longer reimburse both inpatient and outpatient claims at any of the hospital's branches.
The Nairobi Women's Hospital's chief executive has stepped aside for investigations into claims of financial misconduct, that have seen all health insurers suspend their services.
In a short statement on Saturday, Dr Felix Wanjala noted that the claims the facility puts revenue ahead of patient care are "very serious".
"Although I don't believe the allegations are true, I want our patients to regain confidence in us. To achieve this, we need an independent review of our operations," Dr Wanjala said.
He said he wrote to the board on Saturday afternoon, informing it of his decision to step aside with immediate effect to allow the probe.
LEAKED CONVERSATIONS
The hospital's troubles began with leaked conversations that showed how the hospital's bosses set daily targets for the number of patients that would be admitted.
The Nation ran an expose a fortnight ago detailing the extent to which the management was going to optimise profit, sometimes making inpatients stay longer than necessary to accumulate more bills.
The messages showed that the revenue, commissions, admissions and discharge were being monitored hourly, every day, and day and night by the CEO.
In multiple texts covering different days in 2018, a WhatsApp group resembled a trading floor, with Dr Wanjala and his Chief Operations Officer Eunice Munyingi pushing employees to work harder and increase admissions.
CONSEQUENCES
Consequently, Jubilee, Britam, AAR, Old Mutual and CIC Group said they would no longer reimburse both inpatient and outpatient claims at any of the hospital's branches.
The Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) said the suspension would remain in force pending a thorough review of the quality and cost of the hospital’s services, but that this would not affect insured customers already admitted.
The association added that it would engage service providers, through their associations, to address most, if not all, the issues affecting the medical insurance business.
A day after insurers' made their move, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) sent a memo to all its staff, notifying them that it had suspended the facility from its list of service providers.
In an internal memo, Deputy Commissioner of Human Resources Mukuriah Nelson said the suspension would stand, pending resolution of the contentious issues between KRA and the hospital.
