Clinical officers protest exclusion of their facilities from SHA
Kenya Union of Clinical Officers chairman Peterson Wachira (centre). FILE PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
- Kuco is calling on President Ruto to disband the new SHA board over the discrimination claims.
The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (Kuco) has accused the Social Health Authority board of failing to register at least 1,000 healthcare facilities operated by clinicians.
The facilities in question, the Kuco officials say, offer primary healthcare services across the country and had been registered under the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). The facilities are also registered under the Kenya Clinical Officers Council.
The union says the move is continuously hindering the provision of services. “We have heard the President asking why Kenyans have not registered with the Social Health Authority (SHA). The problem is the people he has put in office," said Kuco chairperson Peterson Wachira.
Mr Wachira accused the SHA Board Chairperson Abdi Mohammed of gatekeeping. “We have more than 1.000 facilities that have been registered by the clinical officers council. We also have more than 5,000 specialised clinical officers. Under the NHIF, the officers were offering services to Kenyans but now the SHA fund has decided that only those registered by the Kenya Medical Practitioners Dental Council can be contracted.”
He added that the move is also against the Social Health Authority Act. “The Health Cabinet secretary established the Social Health Authority regulation, which provides clearly that facilities and professionals who shall be empanelled must be presented to the Social Health Authority. However, officers at the Social Health Authority are subverting the law,” said Kuco Secretary-General George Gibore.
Clinical officers now say they have been hindered from conducting specialised services unless they seek pre-authorisation from a registered individual to use their registration number.
The union says despite President's William Ruto’s agenda to attain Universal Health Coverage, there are specific individuals who are making the set goals regress.
“There are thousands of patients who cannot access specialised care in various health facilities across the country. This is making many Kenyans believe that the Social Health Insurance Fund is not working, yet it is a good thing. The only problem is the individuals who are limiting us from achieving Universal Health Coverage,” said Mr Wachira.
So far, the SHA has empanelled 8,400 health facilities across the country, with the acting CEO Robert Ingarisa saying they are still in the process of registering more facilities.
Kuco is calling on President Ruto to disband the new SHA board over the discrimination claims.
Meanwhile, a major health crisis is imminent unless the government can resolve doctors’ pay grievances within the next 21 days and avert a planned strike.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has given a notice of the strike, raising fears of widespread disruption in the healthcare system during the festive season, a period marked by heightened medical demands.
The impending strike, set to begin on December 22, comes less than a year after the union’s previous nationwide industrial action that lasted 56 days. The strike paralysed operations in public hospitals across the country with dozens of individuals losing their loved ones or having to pay out of pocket to get medical services from privately owned facilities.
