Sabina Chege Advocates for Legislation Compelling Public Officials to Seek Treatment in Public Hospitals
pointing out that Mathari is still the only national mental health hospital in the aftermath of a depression and related conditions boom.
Nominated Member of Parliament Sabina Chege called on parliamentarians to enact a law that will compel public officials to undergo medical treatment at public hospitals as part of the broader reforms to resuscitate Kenya's moribund health system.Photo /Courtesy
By Juliet Jerotich
Nominated Member of Parliament Sabina Chege called on parliamentarians to enact a law that will compel public officials to undergo medical treatment at public hospitals as part of the broader reforms to resuscitate Kenya’s moribund health system.
In the course of passage of a motion in Parliament on Wednesday, Chege referred to her long travels to hospitals in the country, from towns to rural villages, and highlighting the wide disparity between the constitutional promise of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and what the ordinary citizen has to endure.
Despite Article 43(1)(a) of the Constitution to make provision for UHC, Chege reported that the public hospitals are not funded and can’t provide quality care, with the bulk of Kenyans compelled to seek expensive private care.
“We don’t invest enough into public healthcare,” Chege told legislators. “Substantial deductions are made from public officials’ salaries for the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), but the transformation in our hospitals is hardly perceptible. Where does it go if it is not sending public healthcare to new heights?”
There are six levels of Kenyan public health, and on the sixth level, there are only six referral hospitals the country has to count on: Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), National Spinal Injury Referral Hospital (NSIRH), Mwai Kibaki Level 6 Hospital, and Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital (MNTRH).
Chege cautioned that the continued penchant of public officers for private hospitals is undermining the viability and growth of these essential facilities. Associating it with her visit to KNH’s private section, she told of substandard facilities and old infrastructure, arguing that this points to the need for huge investment to restore public hospitals to their past status as regional centers of medical excellence.
Mental health facilities are even more out of sight,” she added, pointing out that Mathari is still the only national mental health hospital in the aftermath of a depression and related conditions boom. She implored counties to invest in specialized mental health care services to meet growing demand.
Chege questioned the other MPs to consider where exactly they or their family members would end up going for medical attention if they fell ill where they were. She stated that mandating public hospitals as options for public servants would channel more money into such facilities, hold officials accountable, and offer a chance to regain public trust.
Spreading the word on KUTRRH as a success story—with brand-new diagnostic equipment and a 300-bed children’s hospital to open shortly—Chege emphasized that prudent investment could transform public provision of healthcare.
She dared the Ministry of Health to enforce policies that would ensure adequate funding, improved infrastructure, world-class diagnostic facilities, and competitive remuneration for public sector doctors.
“Let us have trust in our own hospitals,” Chege added. “If we, as leaders, have trust in public healthcare, resources will remain in the system and eventually bolster healthcare for every Kenyan.”
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