Lily Koross explains what ails Kenyatta National Hospital

Embattled Kenyatta National Hospital CEO Lily Koros and the hospital’s board of management on Thursday revealed to the Parliamentary Health Committee that what ails the facility is the deviation from its core mandate as a referral center.

Speaking when she appeared before National Assembly’s Health Committee, Koros said the referral facility is facing a shortage of 172 doctors and several nurses noting that this is affecting service delivery.

According to Koros, one nurse is forced to serve 28 patients saying it is overwhelming.

“There should be a cure of the system wholesomely for the institution to work effectively. The hospital, whose initial capacity was 1,300 patients, currently cares for 2400 in patients and sees another 2000 outpatients daily,” said Koros.

“The required ratio of nurses to patients is 1:6 but we have is 3:47.”

On his part, KNH Board chairman Mark Bor stated that the congestion of the hospital has turned the facility believed to provide highly specialised services, a victim of its own success.

“KNH is a victim of its own success. But can we have a way to deal with indigents – people who wont pay, cant pay because they have no money to pay,” said Bor.

“In a year, at least 70,000 patients are admitted at KNH, most of them in critical condition. On weekdays up to 80 patients are operated on daily. The cost of treating them often falls on the hospital,” he added.

“Cumulatively, patients owe KNH Ksh.5.7 billion. We have also incurred losses in NHIF contracts and free maternity to the tune of Ksh.713 million and Ksh.1.3 billion respectively,” noted Koros.

The board of KNH alongside Koros were on the spot against a backdrop of a litany of complaints by families of the patients involved in the mix-up and revelations of harsh conditions by the clinical and surgical staff at the eye of the storm.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board summoned all parties involved in the brain surgery blunder to appear before its preliminary inquiry committee as it seeks to zero in on the real cause of the mishap.