Elgeyo Marakwet County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Health Monica Rotich has appealed to the Social Health Authority (SHA) to give special consideration to public health facilities when approving reimbursements to avoid disruption of services.
Rotich said that although patients have benefited from SHA, delays and rejection of claims have left health facilities in the county owed approximately Sh100 million, affecting the purchase of drugs and essential medical supplies.
“Public hospitals are non-profit making and therefore medics cannot give false information as the monies go directly to the facilities and not to them as individuals,” she said.
Speaking during a county sensitization meeting on the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) at a hotel in Iten, the CECM noted that the process of uploading documents onto the SHA system was tedious and could be contributing to the rejection of approvals.
She pointed out that Elgeyo Marakwet is ranked third nationally in SHA registration and stressed that timely reimbursement of claims would enable the county to maintain quality health services. Health is one of the key pillars of the BETA agenda.
Rotich also urged SHA to consider providing seed funding to counties to enable them to offer treatment to all patients seeking services before they complete registration under the scheme.
At the same time, she commended the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) for improving its service delivery, noting that counties are now receiving the drugs they requisition.
The CECM, however, expressed concern over the downgrading of some county health facilities by the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU). She said some Level Three facilities had been downgraded to Level Two, meaning they can no longer provide maternity services.
“This means our mothers are being forced to travel long distances to access maternal health services and, given the terrain, some are reverting to traditional birth attendants,” she said.
She expressed hope that KMPDU officials, currently on an inspection tour of the facilities, would consider restoring the affected facilities to their former status.
Rotich further cited shortage of medical personnel as a major challenge in service delivery. She said many Level One facilities are staffed by only one nurse, and when the officer proceeds on leave, a nurse from a neighbouring facility is forced to cover both centres.
Elgeyo Marakwet SHA County Manager Alex Muthama called on community health promoters to help teenage mothers register with SHA and obtain unique identification codes to access maternal services.
“We do not want our teenage mothers risking their lives and those of their babies by giving birth at home,” he said.
By Alice Wanjiru
