The Nairobi Women’s Hospital’s chief executive has stepped aside for investigations into claims of financial misconduct, that have seen all health insurers suspend their services.
In a short statement on Saturday, Dr Felix Wanjala noted that the claims the facility puts revenue ahead of patient care are “very serious”.
“Although I don’t believe the allegations are true, I want our patients to regain confidence in us. To achieve this, we need an independent review of our operations,” Dr Wanjala said.
He said he wrote to the board on Saturday afternoon, informing it of his decision to step aside with immediate effect to allow the probe.
The hospital’s troubles began with leaked conversations that showed how the hospital’s bosses set daily targets for the number of patients that would be admitted.
The messages showed that the revenue, commissions, admissions and discharge were being monitored hourly, every day, and day and night by the CEO.
In multiple texts covering different days in 2018, a WhatsApp group resembles a trading floor, with Dr Wanjala and his Chief Operations Officer Eunice Munyingi pushing employees to work harder and increase admissions.
Consequently, Jubilee, Britam, AAR, Old Mutual and CIC Group said they will no longer reimburse both inpatient and outpatient claims at any of the hospital’s branches.
A day later, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) sent a memo to all its staff, notifying them that it had suspended the facility from its list of service providers.
In an internal memo, Deputy Commissioner of Human Resources Mukuriah Nelson said the suspension will stand until the contentious issues between KRA and the hospital are resolved.
