The Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret is drowning in a severe financial crisis that has left the institution just managing to keep its head above water.
The hospital is overwhelmed with nearly Ksh3 billion of debts, the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Philip Kirwa, said.
The management has been forced into making some tough choices, he admitted, such as paying staff members only their net salaries without paying statutory deductions such as repayment of loans and other mandatory contributions.
The matter has now been subject to scrutiny by Parliament. The National Assembly Implementation Committee Chairman Budalang’i MP Raphael Wanjala stated that the situation at MTRH was “a serious issue” that needs urgent intervention by the government.
He warned that, if action is not taken, the hospital could collapse like Moi University that has been facing similar financial issues.
Doctors in the nation also fret. The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), through its North Rift Chair Dr. Jackson Mulei, also blamed the Social Health Authority (SHA) for failing to release adequate funds into hospitals.
He threatened that unless the crisis is allowed to continue unchecked, most of the hospitals across the country would be forced to close their doors within a span of three months.
As if financial troubles were not enough, MTRH is also battling charges of discriminatory hiring. Critics have accused the hospital of breaching Kenya’s Employment Act by allegedly discriminating against one ethnic group.
The hospital has been accused of hiring more than 66% of its workers from the Kalenjin ethnic group, far above the 30% allowed by law.
With mounting debts, restless workers, and fears of inclusivity, MTRH is now at a crossroads, suspended in the middle of Kenya’s wider health sector crisis.
Something should be done
Good ruling so as our health facilities can carry on