Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has ordered a renewed crackdown on doctors accused of running or working in private clinics during official government working hours, warning that the practice amounts to fraud against the public health system.
Speaking on December 16 in Tharaka Nithi County, Duale said the trend had become widespread, with some doctors stationed in public hospitals allegedly diverting patients to private facilities where they have interests, despite being on government payrolls between 8am and 5pm.
According to the CS, the practice not only denies public hospitals patients but also robs them of much-needed revenue, while taxpayers continue to foot doctors’ salaries.
“It has become so rampant that doctors working in government facilities are opting to send patients to private facilities they are operating in and either denying the facilities that pay them salaries or disregarding them completely,” Duale said.
Duale was speaking during the commissioning of a new ultra-modern Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and an amenity wing at Chuka Level 5 Hospital, an event also attended by Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki and Principal Secretary for Medical Services Dr Ouma Oluga.
The Health CS announced that beginning January, tougher measures would be rolled out to punish doctors found working elsewhere during official hours while attached to public facilities.
“Doctors keen on earning on locum at office hours, between 8am and 5pm, are committing fraud,” he said.
He cited Kenyatta National Hospital as an example, noting that despite having 26 fully equipped theatres manned by top specialists, patients are often given surgery or review dates months away. In some cases, he said, patients are later contacted by intermediaries offering next-day procedures at private hospitals.
To curb the practice, Duale directed the Digital Health Authority to flag any doctor registered in a public hospital who submits claims from private facilities during official working hours, saying enforcement would begin in January.
Governor Njuki backed the warning, accusing some doctors of treating public hospitals as stepping stones for private practice.
“Some doctors are extremely ambitious but want many jobs to make more money,” Njuki said.
He added that some county hospitals are better equipped than the private facilities patients are referred to, arguing that financial incentives were pushing some doctors to undermine public institutions.
Duale further noted that doctors’ unions had been put on notice, insisting that accountability would be enforced across the public health system.
The newly commissioned ICU at Chuka Level 5 Hospital is the first of its kind in the region, with an initial five-bed capacity and two isolation units designed to handle critically ill patients.
