Nairobi Hospitals Charging up to Sh650,000 for an ICU Bed

A new survey has revealed the outrageous amount of money that most Nairobi hospitals are charging patients for an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed.

The random survey carried out by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) shows that major hospitals in the capital are demanding high deposit fees from ICU patients before admitting them.

The findings of the survey are contained in a March 23rd letter addressed to Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe.

For instance, the MP Shah Hospital is demanding a deposit fee of Sh650,000 to admit a patient to the ICU ward. The facility has only 6 ICU beds, which are all occupied at the moment.

In Nairobi West Hospital, a patient is required to part with Sh300,000 to secure an ICU bed. The hospital’s 46-bed capacity ICU ward is currently 50 percent full.

The Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), which has 32 ICU beds fully occupied, is charging Sh200,000.

At the Nairobi Hospital, which has 36 ICU beds, the fee is Sh130,000 but the facility does not require the money to be paid provided there is a guarantee of payment.

With a total of 86 ICU units, the State-run Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) is the only facility that does not demand any deposit fee before admission. The facility’s ICU ward is full.

KMPDC has sent a warning to the hospitals that are asking for a deposit amount before admitting patients requiring emergency services.

“The council’s position is that no person should be denied emergency medical treatment/ICU services regardless of their condition, whether COVID-19 related or not. This is further outlined in the National Patients’ Rights Charter developed by the council in 2013,” KMPDC said in the letter.

This week, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) said there is a shortage of ICU bed in the country in the wake of a third COVID-19 wave.