The operations at Nairobi Hospital are at a risk of being halted after the high court issued temporary orders barring the management from undertaking any procurement or taking a loan to run the hospital.
This is after Samuel Muthamo Muchiri moved to court last week suing the Kenya Hospital Association trustees for allegedly running the company down.
On Thursday Justice P Mulwa issued orders suspending the implementation of the Resolutions on election of Directors of the Board of Management and of elections of Trustee of the Kenya Hospital Association of 4th December 2024, pending hearing and determination of the application inter parties or until further orders of the Honourable Court.
Further, the trustees have been barred from borrowing for any Capital Expenditure for Kenya Hospital Association, and or offering; executing or in any manner whichsoever using the assets of the Interested Party as collateral for a loan.
“A temporary order of injunction be and is hereby issued restraining the 1st Defendant, whether by itself, agents, employees or anybody whosever acting on the 1s Defendant’s behalf from engaging in any form of Capital Expenditure, including equipment purchase, furniture and fittings, upgrade, and maintenance of physical assets such as property, plants, buildings, technology, or equipment, settling pending bills, spending on any new procured projects, any ongoing projects, and undertaking new projects or investments, pending hearing and determination of the application inter partes or until further orders of the Honourable Court.l,” the order reads.
The Hospital has also been barred from floating or concluding any procurement of Capital services and Projects pending hearing and determination of the application inter parties or until further orders of the Honourable Court.
Further, they have been temporarily barred from liquidating, encashing, or in any manner whatsoever utilizing or applying the funds belonging to and held by the Interested Party, Kenya Hospital Association, in Fixed/Call Deposits, Treasury Bonds, Infrastructure Bonds and Provident Fund, and or where liquidated from applying funds therefrom, wherever held, pending hearing and determination of the application inter parties or until further orders of the Honourable Court.
In the court papers, Muchiri has accused the board of committing serious acts of malfeasance in breach of the duty to act for success of the company and duty to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence as obligated by the law.
He says that as a result of this the hospital has lost Sh 1.1 billion with a debt to supplies of nearly Sh 3 B.
He further says the trustees intend to borrow off shore Sh 4.2 billion using assets of the company as collateral which will drive the hospital to insolvency.
The trustees Prof Githu Muigai, Jane Nyakang’o, Prof Donald Orinda, Dr Meshack Onguti and Celia Ngalyuka have also been sued.
The Nairobi Hospital has been among the leading healthcare service providers inthe East African region since its inception in the 1950s. It has a combination of highly skilled medical specialists and modern medical and non-medical technology to undertake a wide range of routine and complex investigations and procedures, including Open Heart Surgery, Kidney Transplants, Trauma Care, Orthopaedic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Laparoscopic Surgery, and Cancer Therapy among others.
However, laboratory technicians and other cadres have expressed concern about the facility’smanagement and workingenvironment in the recent past.
In an email to Kenya Insights following our latest revelations of graft allegations against the hospital, the healthcare workers reached out to highlight on the the toxic working environment it is at the Nairobi hospital. we have tried to engage the human resource, the CEO but our grievances remain unheard and unresolved.
The issues run from uncompensated overtime hours, toxic managers who are always right and staff opinion is not an option, we are not to be heard nor listened to.. this starts from the CEO himself who never listens to his staff.
The oppression of staffs go way back to being put in a hospital union without their consent and there is no option of leaving despite raising the issue with the CEO and the legal team, it has been over 3 years following up the issue but no action is taken by the CEO. Staff have written letters to opt out of the union but the human resource have disregarded their plea. (See later attached at the bottom of this post).
“We have requested the CEO to consider us for salary increment but he has the audacity to tell us the staff the money does not belong to us, it’s for the nurses because they are the ones who are resigning in large numbers.” Part of the email reads.
“At some point the HR conducted, a survey on work environment and work life balance, twice but the report never left the HR desk, it was never published. At Nairobi hospital you will have to sacrifice your family for work. The demands at the hospital are not for the faint hearted.” It states further.
Today, Kenya is experiencing a steady increase in clinical careers. Nevertheless, healthcare professionals are facing significant challenges due to the demanding nature of the industry. The Nairobi Hospital is one of the facilities where healthcare professionals perform a demanding line of duty while dealing with obstacles that make navigating the sector difficult. Most, if not all, feel frustrated for various reasons after working for several years. The period after the pandemic has been the most challenging, and some consider quitting for their sanity.
Toxic working environment
According to several insiders, the hospital‘s environment has become more of a law enforcementarena. Most supervisors and managers are harsh and rude and appear to prove a point.The staff can be fired months into their jobsfor lack of a clear improvement plan. The supervisorsbully members of their teams, which has caused severe mental and physical health decline. Put plainly, the working environment is characterized by managers shouting at the staffforerrorsin the presence ofcolleagues and patients.Also, somehealthcare professionalshave complained about silent treatment from management in times of need.
The boss has the final say, and there’s no debate. No opinion is listened to, especially from the laboratory technician and other cadres. Senior staff in the facility for several years have resigned or taken early retirement because of unnecessary pressure and being bossed around. Similarly, healthcare professionals are not allowed to exchange shifts in case of an emergency or social gatherings. If a staff riskcovering a shift fora colleague, they are immediately subjected to a two weeks continuous shift without rest as a form of punishment. As if that is not enough, some cadres have found themselves in the facility’s union without consent and do not have a way out.
In a demand letter addressed to the hospital CEO on 11thNovember 2022 by disgruntled professionals across all clinical and non-clinical departments, the staff cited the need for urgent salary review as that was the subsequent time the issue was being raised. Moreover, the facility has taken a divide-and-rule strategy, slowly eroding its traditions. The letter further noted that nurses receive better treatment, payment, and working environment than other clinical and non-clinical staff. In response, the facility’s management, through a virtual meeting, declined to offer any solutions to their concerns.
Demanding work schedules
The hospital staffis required to work long hours, which is one of the major causes of burnout. The work schedules are demanding and challenging. Laboratory technicians and other cadres face surge after surge of patients who are desperately ill and need their attention. Moreover, laboratory technicians must handle numerous samples from patients streaming into the main facility and its outpatient centres.The hospital expected the employees to work at least 45 hours per week which many believe is too much. Shifts vary depending on different factors such as demand, personal preference, and location.
Although the healthcare professionals undergo a contract signing process during orientation where the working hours are stipulated as 45 hours per week, on average, the recommended working hours for a full-time healthcare professional should be 36 to 40 hours. A lab technician argues that the off day onweekendsis insufficient for rest and attending to family duties.For instance, a mother or single parent who has to work the entire week to meet the 45 hours threshold has challenges with the rest day because they have to release their house manager or nanny, which means they don’t get to rest. Therefore, they have no work-life balance.
Unfair allocation of duties and transfers
Similarly, duties at the facility and the outpatient centres are allocated unfairly. Some staffs operate in areas with the most difficult patients or the worst shifts. Bullying supervisors may target particularindividuals and assign them bedbound patients,which leads to physical struggles. Favouritism is common,where some professionals only handle mobile patients. Other hospital staffs feel there is unfair scheduling where specificindividuals have to deal with excessive night shifts. During the day, it is hard for anyone to take breaks. Lunch breaks are no longer valued, and the staffis forced to split their breaks and use their spare time to handle the vast workloads assigned to them. The breaks are important for rest, reducing accumulated acute fatigue, and restoring energy.
In case of errors, the managers can punish healthcare professionals by immediately transferring them to different stations, far away from where they live, withoutany notice to help them prepare for relocation. The salaries are also insufficient to match the work doneat the facility and outpatient centres. The hospital’s management is aware of the number of patients served by the carers and the multiple complaints about the issue of salaries. However, there is little effort seen to resolve the problem. Many staff members are demoralized and feel undervalued,affecting their care delivery.
Toxic clients
The hospital has a specific clientele, most of which are difficult to deal with, especially due to their demand for special treatment.According to an insider, some toxic clients are BOG members who feel extremely entitled, inappreciative, and discourteous to the staff and believe they are beyond reproach. If they do not get served immediately after they arrive, the lab technicians and other cadres may find it difficult to explain the reasons to their managers. Once patients report an issue, the supervisors assume that the health professionals attending to them arein the wrong.
Notably, such issues have become prominent and are a leading cause of depression and anxiety, which could eventually lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) forlaboratorytechnicians, among other cadres.Healthcare professionalsare responsible for putting their patients first with compassion and care, but not to the detriment of their health. Most people quoteresilience and encourage healthcare professionals to cope with adversity. Nonetheless, it is vital to remember that this category of professionals consists of humans with their frailties and fears. They cannot always present everything demanded of them as might be expected by the facility. With the unfair treatment, the management should understand that the staffs are humans taking care of other humans’ needs. It is sad and hurtful to be abused by the management or patients needing care.
Staff and other stakeholders are in state of alarm as corruption and cronyism in The Nairobi Hospital threatens the very existence of the premier private hospital in the country.
Allegations of mismanagement, bribe-taking and other underhand dealings have rocked the hospital founded in 1954, wreaking havoc on staff morale and productivity.
At the centre of the controversy is the emergence of a cartel which appears hell bent on only getting rich quickly at the expense of the operations and well-being of the hospital.
Insiders who are privy to the goings-on intimate to Kenya Insights that the current chairman of the hospital’s board Dr. Chris Bichage has entered into an unholy alliance with the CEO James Nyamongo, Company Secretary Gilbert Nyamweya, Dr. Barcley Onyambu, Dr. Fred Kambuni, Dr. Meshack Ong’uti (not a board member) and other board members to the chagrin of other stakeholders. Mr. Nyamongo is said to have left Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) before joining the Nairobi hospital under very unclear circumstances due to fraudulent activities.
He was also bundled out of office barely a week after being appointed the interim CEO at the National Oil Corporation of Kenya in 2019.
Dr. Bichage, a former MP for Nyaribari Chache, is no stranger to corruption allegations. Impeccable sources intimate Kenya Insights that Dr. Bichage was discontinued at the University of Nairobi during his undergraduate studies for academic non-performance. This makes his academic and professional qualifications to be questionable. In 2017, he was charged in a Kitale court with defrauding advocate of the High Court David Biketi Kes. 11.1 million by pretending he could sell him 10 acres of land in Trans Nzoia County. Dr. Bichage is said to have committed the offence between August 7, 2015 and March 11, 2016.
“The Nairobi hospital, being a top class hospital in the East and Central Africa region, is expected to have in place strong and robust corporate governance structures to govern and manage the institution both at the board and management levels,” said a senior manager, who requested to remain anonymous. However, the reality on the ground and practice in the institution is in total contrast to the expectation.
The latest controversy which should interest the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) is the billion-shillings tender to supply, implement, maintain and support a Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
In April 2022, the hospital advertised in the local dailies for a consultancy for the supply, implementation, maintenance and support of HMIS and ERP. After a thorough procurement process was undertaken, including due diligence and site visits, a Joint Venture (JV) of two companies; GoodX Enterprises(PTY) Limited, a South African company and DynamicNav Systems Limited, a Kenyan company, won the tender.
The winning JV was awarded the contract in June 2023 at a contract sum of USD 5,643,334 (approximately Kes. 960 million) for a period of five (5) years, and the contract was signed in August 2023. The JV fulfilled all the required conditions as per the contract, including submitting a Performance Bank Guarantee of 5% of contract value (USD 282,167) within the time specified by the hospital.
The JV, which was referred to as “System Integrator” in the contract, immediately commenced the execution of its mandate in the project according to the work plan approved and in agreement with the hospital Project Implementation Team (PIT) requirements. The System Integrator was given an office in the hospital equipped with WiFi, a printer and a shredder. In addition, the System Integrator was given parking and identification badges to enable its staff access various parts of the hospital in the course of carrying out their work. The contract was signed when Dr. Irungu Ndirangu was the chairman of Nairobi Hospital board.
However, when the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA) conducted the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September 2023, there was a change in the board of directors including replacement of the chairperson Dr. Ndirangu by Dr. Chris Bichage.
Immediately after Dr. Bichage took over, the System Integrator started to experience hostility, interference, resistance, non-communication and sabotage from the new board and management.
There were allegations from the current chairman, CEO and a section of the new board that the System Integrator had failed to meet the required conditions in the contract, which they themselves (Dr. Bichage and CEO James Nyamongo) had signed.
To the surprise of the System Integrator, the board members who were making the allegations were from the same tribe as the hospital’s chairperson, chief executive officer and the company secretary, supported by other board members who apparently had been compromised. They claimed that the System Integrator failed to submit a Performance Bank Guarantee as specified in the contract. The guarantee was indeed sent to the hospital, addressed to the CEO. The bank attempted severally to contact the CEO but he declined to collect the original copy from ABSA Kenya Limited, Trade Finance Department, Bishops Gate, which is a walking distance from the hospital. The System Integrator made the effort to collect the original Performance Bank Guarantee from the bank and delivered it to the CEO’s office. Unfortunately, the CEO instructed the secretary not to accept its delivery. Eventually, the System Integrator sent a copy to the CEO via email.
In October 2023, the System Integrator submitted to the Nairobi hospital an invoice of USD 1,594,948 for the services already rendered from the date of signing of the contract. The hospital however declined to acknowledge receipt nor honor the invoice. The System Integrator has now come to find out that after the September 2023 AGM, a section of the new board is out to cancel the contract and give it to a company called ICT Health, which had competed in the previous tender but was technically knocked out. This company is allied to James Nyamongo, the CEO, who is past retirement age.
Nyamongo’s contract expired in December 2023, but was renewed under mysterious circumstances against the Nairobi hospital’s human resource code of regulations, to fulfil his personal interest in the HMIS-ERP contract. On the other hand, Nyamongo and section of board members are happy to maintain the status quo with the current hospital’s ICT system, which has serious financial leakages for whatever reasons known to them. Furthermore, it is alleged that the CEO has never gone on leave for the last three (3) years when in office, which raises many questions about the corporate governance levels of the Nairobi hospital.
The hospital has gone ahead to initiate a direct tendering process for selected companies by writing to companies like Microsoft, which supplied the Joint Venture with the ERP in the current HMIS-ERP project which has a running contract. This is in complete breach of the hospital’s procurement rules where an open tender is required for any goods or services worth more than Kes. 5 Million.
Furthermore, it has to be passed by the full board as opposed to a section of board members.
Reliable sources has revealed that Nyamongo and other board members; namely Philomen Mwaisaka (a former Provincial Administrator) and Dr. Magdalene Muthoka (Chief Manager, HR New KCC) received bribes from ICT Health (based in Jakarta, Indonesia). It is said that the CEO has used the money to build residential flats in Riat, Kisumu County. Curiously, a contractor by name EPCO which is doing construction work for the Nairobi Hospital is the one which built the flats from Nyamongo. Dr. Magdalene Muthoka should also be investigated by the head of public service, New KCC board and EACC for being in two payrolls; at New KCC as a public servant and on retainer at the Nairobi hospital.
Another issue is that the Indonesian firm favored by the cartel is not the owner of the system, but are just resellers. The system is developed and owned by an Indian company in Cheney, India. ICT Health also do not have local representation as purported. They gave an address of an office in Loita Street which turned out to be a government office. “The local contact person they gave, a Mr. Mogaka, turned out to be an employee of TechMahindra who were the consultants who drew the ToR for the RFP. They were not eligible to bid due to conflict of interest,” said the source.
Historically, the hospital has been known to have serious governance issues, which is in the public domain. Recently, the US government, under U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), granted the Nairobi hospital USD 1.1 Million to undertake a feasibility study to expand and improve healthcare access in Kenya. The study was to support the hospital’s intent to establish five medical centres across Kenya, digitize its operations, and expand cancer treatment services at the hospital. The US government did this on the premise that the governance issues in the hospital have been resolved.
It is apparent that the governance at the hospital is currently at its lowest since the changes in the board in September 2023 with a lot of questions regarding processes of revenue collection, recurrent and capital expenditures and asset management. There are several unresolved issues surrounding the hospital operations, staff welfare and safety, including the death of the former acting Finance Director who was murdered under mysterious circumstances.
The current situation at the Nairobi hospital therefore, calls for the trustees, shareholders and all stakeholders to urgently step in and seriously interrogate the management and operations of the hospital under the current board and the CEO, whose contract was recently renewed under dubious circumstances
A woman at the centre of the gruesome murder of Nairobi Hospital finance director Erick Maigo at his Woodley home in Kilimani area, Nairobi county will now spend five more days in custody pending investigations into the incident.
This is after Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi yesterday allowed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) plea to continue holding the prime suspect, Cynthia Lusenga Andayo alias Flora Akoth Okonda at Kilimani Police station to enable police complete investigations into the murder.
“I find that the application by the state seeking more time to continue holding the suspect has merit. I therefore order her to be detained at Kilimani police station for five days pending completion of the ongoing investigations over allegations of murder,” Ochoi ordered.
While seeking to have police allowed to hold Lusenga further, State prosecutor James Gachoka told the court that the detectives are investigating her in connection with the murder of Maigo who was stabbed 25 times.
“The suspect seated in the dock is the woman who was reportedly with the deceased at the time of his death and she is being treated as the prime suspect in the murder of Maigo. Investigations so far conducted by police shows that the deceased’s body was found with several stab wounds mainly at the chest and the others on his sides. l urge the court to allow police to finalise the investigations in the matter before she is charged with murder,” Gachoka told the court.
He also informed the court that police are hunting for Lusenga’s accomplices who are on the run following the murder.
Gachoka also stated that police need more time to enable them to escort the woman for mental assessment before she is charged with murder.
An affidavit filed in court by investigating officer Patrick Boge states that Lusenga was arrested on Friday, September 15, 2023 at her hideout at Elgeyo-Marakwet road within Kilimani area and booked at Kibera police station before the matter was taken over by DCl detectives from Kilimani police station.
Murder scene
She is said to have fled the scene of murder by jumping through the window after allegedly committing the murder, according to the detectives.
“The respondent was arrested following a report of murder at Woodley annex upper in Kibra within Kilimani area. The report was made by one Amina Kamora at Kibra Police Station that there was a commotion in the house number 6 in the said estate of Kibra,” Boge stated.
Following the report, Boge said that a team of police officers from Kilimani Sub County visited the scene of crime and established that the deceased, namely Maigo, 37 years had been stabbed severally on the left side of the chest by unknown people and secured the scene of crime.
The officer said investigations so far conducted have since revealed that the deceased was at home around 6pm when he was attacked by unknown people who were armed with kitchen knives.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the respondent (Lusenga) was among the group that orchestrated the violence which resulted in the death of the deceased,” Boge informed the court.
He added that DCI detectives who visited the crime scene recovered the murder weapons being kitchen knives and Maigo’s body lying in a pool of blood next to his bed.
“The continued detention of the respondent is immensely necessary for the furtherance and finalising of the investigations, her release could further lead to interference with the investigation,” Boge stated.
Further, the officer said that police are yet to record statements from the key witnesses in the matter including the Maigo’s neighbours who heard him groaning in pain inside his house.
“I am yet to take fingerprints, photo profiling, taking Lusenga for DNA sampling for analysis by the Government Chemist, trace and arrest her associates, escort her for mental assessment, forwarding the case file to the ODPP for perusal and advice,” Boge said.
According to a report lodged with police, neighbours said they heard Maigo groaning in pain and the woman who was in the house refused to open the door, but had escaped when police arrived.
Medical negligence is becoming an issue in Kenya and more cases coming from the private hospitals, because the process of justice is often long, expensive and full of threats, most tend to bury their loved ones and their suspicions on hospitals.
However, this is not the case of Isaac Opondo, a father to the late Ryan Hawi, a son he strongly believes to have been killed by the negligence the Nairobi Hospital.
“They say, “Lightning never strikes the same place twice”, 11 years ago my new-born on suffered birth injuries that would change his life forever at the Nairobi Hospital due to negligence, 11 year later his follower would lose his life at the same hospital due to gross negligence by hospital and its doctors, how could a place that should be safe for
children turn so deadly.” Isaac opens up on his situation.
My son Ryan, a vibrant young boy, got home from school like any other day, did his homework and played with other kids and retreated to the house as usual. At around 9pm he complained of backache and was given paracetamol. He continued to complain of pain after 30 minutes pic.twitter.com/8erQQ9HTXs
“On the 23′ of February 2021, my son Ryan, a vibrant young boy, got home from school like any other day, did his homework and played with other kids and retreated to the house as usual. At around 9pm he complained of backache and was given paracetamol. He continued to complain of pain after 30 minutes and I consulted his pediatrician who advised that I take him to the Nairobi Hospital casualty and request the attending doctor to call her.”
“Little did they know that would be the last time he would be home alive. At casualty, he was given several medications including Morphine, a powerful opioid. We initially declined the
admission request by the doctor because he seemed ok. Ryan was given ketorolac at 2am and this changed everything, Ketorolac was given off label and is not indicated for his management, he became drowsy and sleepy forcing us to agree to admit, on admission the child was continued on morphine at 3ml/h and Gabapentin was introduced on his management, Morphine and gabapentin should not be used together, Gabapentin was also used off label. Soon after the SPO2 which was at 100% when he got to the hospital was 62-69%.”
including Morphine, a powerful opioid. We initially declined the admission request by the doctor because he seemed ok. Ryan was given ketorolac at 2am and this changed everything, Ketorolac was given off label and is not indicated for his management, he became drowsy pic.twitter.com/olcATRHveM
“Meaning, Ryan was not breathing well and an indication of morphine overdose. The doctor was called by a nurse at 2:50pm on 24th February and she indicated that she would come to review the child at 3pm, She did not turn up until 11am on 25th and The Nairobi hospital doctors, and staff did not give Ryan a lifesaving medication Naloxone which would have reversed the morphine overdose immediately. The Nairobi hospital and its doctors did not perform Hemodialysis to remove Gabapentin from his system Immediately.”
”Ryan was 8 years and 34kg, He was given 11.9mg of Morphine in 24hrs. In addition to Gabapentin 900mg, Rolac/ketorolac 30mg, Cataflam 25mg, Paracetamol 500mg, Rocephin 3,500mg, Lasix 40mg. All this to a boy who was asking to go home after feeling better while in the casualty. The patient documents provided suggest that
morphine was continued even after the nurses noted overdose. A child who was still struggling with unmediated Gabapentin toxicity in the ICU was still given fentanyl, an even more powerful opioid despite a known fact that opioids and Gabapentin potentiate each other.”
“During infusion of morphine and administration of gabapentin the child was not monitored, there was no pulse oximeter to continuously monitor the child’s respiration.”
”This negligence led to Ryan’s death in 4 days. He suffered and succumbed to the harm from the gross negligence by the Nairobi Hospital and its doctors.”
“After Ryan’s death I wrote to the hospital’s medical director requesting for an investigation of the death and requested for a medical report and patients file, The director initially agreed to release the file but changed his mind through an email communication, The hospital released a medical report on Ist of April 2021 but there was no
mention of the drugs that caused the injury and death on the report.”
”I made a formal complaint at KMPDC on 27th May and the hospital was ordered to provide the all the relevant documentation and statements from all the doctors who managed my late son by 28th June 2021, After several reminders they partially complied on 21st of July 2021, Efforts to get other crucial documents from the hospital have
not been successful and the hospital even tried to cover up by providing false information to the council, The KMPDC staff have been unable to compel the hospital to comply to their lawful orders, KMPDC is either unwilling to act on the doctor and the hospital or there could be some convergence of interest between the Doctor, the Nairobi Hospital and the Medical Council. This case was also reported to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board who have conducted and completed their investigation and Pfizer who is the manufacturer of the drug that caused my son’s
death. Gabapentin was flagged by FDA in 2019 and the prescriber’s label inside the gabapentin package warns of the same;
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-warns-about-serious-breathing-problems-seizure-and-nerve-pain-medicines-gabapentin-neurontin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcDybw$|8I
The @KmpdcOfficial asked @thenairobihosp via Ref. No:KMPDC/DEC .1270/30/2021/08 dated 1st October to provide the hand written nursing notes by 8th October. The hospital ignored the request and I have sent several reminders for the same without success..What are they hiding?
The @thenairobihosp missed the biggest opportunity improve on care, I setup a meeting with CEO and asked the the chief pharmacist and medical director attend the meeting, He met me alone and told me that he is not a doctor therefore he cannot discuss the issue #Justice4RyanHawi
When I requested the medical director for the investigation I did so believing that @thenairobihosp has internal safeguard that would be able to respond failures by doctors to follow the laid down procedures, Hippocratic oath is held sacred by doctors #Justice4RyanHawi
“This is not an isolated case at the Nairobi Hospital, My first-born son suffered birth asphyxia at Nairobi hospital during birth 11 years ago, under very similar circumstances, The attending gynecologist was not within the hospital and could not be reached by the nurses.” Isaac concluded.
As the mother mourns her son, many Kenyans have also come out to point out from their experiences shortcomings from the hospital.
One time I took my son to Nairobi hospital because he had a stomach problem and even before checking him well and scan they had already booked for surgery and was like are you really serious because papers were brought to me to sign for operation to start
This one really broke my heart.😢😢😭😭😭😭 No father Should Burry Their Child Maaaaan… Too painful…. I cancelled Nairobi Hospital kitambo sana Mimi….especially for Paediatric cases… I can't take my kids to Nairobi Hospital… it's been 7 years now…mtoto hawezi kanyaga https://t.co/AfXudjZm0a
Amazing what Nairobi Hospital doctors can do to you for money. They basically misdiagnosed Benta Opande and recommended that screws be inserted in her backbone. She almost died but was saved by Indian doctors who removed the screws. Why? Why? Do money? #JusticeForBentaOpandepic.twitter.com/t1tRE428Tk
The case of Ryan is not isolated unfortunately and Nairobi Hospital has been slapped with several shots and complaints, a simple Google search on the hospital will direct you to similar cases. More of not all the times, suspicious cases go unnoticed and unpublished, it’s courageous acts of the few like that of Isaac that hits where it hurts and deserves.
If anything, those who’ve filed complaints about Nairobi Hospital or any other on suspected negligence shouldn’t shy away. It took time for Isaac to go through the set channels and realized nothing was forthcoming in justice for his sim whom he believes was killed.
To anyone out there in a similar situation, don’t die in silence, speak out, sue, if you need your matter amplified, shout and most importantly, bring your story to us on Kenya Insights. You’ll be heard.
A typing error and the rush to go home on Friday may have helped Nairobi Hospital lawyers from charges of contempt of court.
The hospital’s former CEO Allan Pamba, who was fired in October last year, obtained a court order stopping them from hiring a new boss.
But Nairobi Hospital hired Mr James Nyamongo as the Chief Executive Officer on December 7, 2020, on a Monday after court had issued orders stopping the recruitment the previous Friday.
Gurion Mwima, who is the IT Manager in the law firm of Echessa & Bwire Advocates LLP, said he left work at three o’clock before they received the order of injunction.
What’s more, the email was wrongly worded typed as .ocm instead of .com so denying they willfully disobeyed court orders.
“The firm received an email with attachments through their office email address on or about Friday 4th December 2020 at 1552 hours, concerning an application and Order of Court. That he had closed for the day by the said time and did not therefore see the said email and all other emails until Monday the 7th of December 2020,” Judge Nzioki wa Makau said.
“Even though the said email further addressed the attending advocate, Mr. Miller Wanjala Bwire through his office email address, the same was not and could not be received by him because the sender quoted the wrong email address, using [email protected] instead of [email protected],” the Judge said.
The Judge, however, struck out the injunction issued in favour of Nairobi Hospital former CEO Allan Pamba saying he had not come to court with clean hands.
He concealed the fact that he had sought and failed to get an injunction in an earlier case and had thus canvassed by bringing the same claim in the December case.
“The Court having declined to grant the injunction, it could not be open to the Claimant to seek the same and in doing so without revealing the orders he had failed to obtain, the Claimant practiced deceit and thereby obtained the orders of 4th December 2020 by concealing material facts. The motion by the Claimant is thus devoid of merit and is accordingly dismissed with costs to the Respondent,” the Judge said.
Nairobi Hospital has since announced the appointment of Mr Nyamongo backdating it to December last year.
The hospital chairman Irungu Ndirangu said the new CEO brings vast experience from 28-year career spanning strategic management with financial management including a stinty at the Kenya Pipeline and National Oil company.
“The Board of Management of The Nairobi Hospital (TNH) is pleased to announce the confirmation of Mr James Nyamongo as the Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital. His appointment is effective December 7, 2020, when he was appointed acting CEO on a six-month probationary term,” Mr Ndirangu said in a notice.
Mr Pamba had stopped the hospital from hiring the new boss after the chairman issued a memo on December 7 appointing Mr Nyamongo as the substantive CEO.
The institution’s ousted chief executive officer is demanding Sh218.8 million in compensation for unfair dismissal.
The hospital has been rocked by boardroom fights over tenders at the premier private health facility.
Court filings by Dr Pamba link his ouster to multi-billion shilling contracts for the installation of security systems, debt collection services and the construction of the newly opened Covid-19 hospital unit.
He was fired in October, just six months after his appointment, on claims that he had failed to provide a performance improvement plan for the hospital.
Dr Pamba’s predecessor at the hospital, Gordon Odundo, was sacked in April 2019 amid similar claims of tender wars.
Court has given the struggling Nairobi Hospital green light to fire over 200 employees in a move aimed at reducing costs, uprooting under performing staffers and those involved in mega scandals within the facility.
Justice Nzioki wa Makau dismissed a petition filed by Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels Educational Institutions Hospitals and Allied Workers (Kudheiha). The judge ruled that it was premature to challenge the hospital’s move given that the letter by the management was only meant to initiate talks between the parties before the restructuring plan.
“Since courts loath to interfere with the managerial prerogatives, the matters at play are within the purview of the parties to deal under the resolution mechanisms provided for in the CBA and through the conciliatory process at the Ministry of Labour,” Justice Makau ruled.
KUDHEIHA Secretary- General, Albert Njeru [p/courtesy]Kudheiha had moved to the Employment and Labour court to block the retrenchments arguing that the scheme saying it was targeting its members for a complete removal and not restructuring as purported. The union also complained that the plan was reached without strict adherence to the mandatory procedures set out in the Employment Act.
Nairobi Hospital is financially limping with bulging operational costs and losses in the wake of an economic slowdown occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.
But Kudheiha Secretary- General, Albert Njeru, stated that it was business as usual at what should be the country’s premier healthcare facility except the shortage of beds which is blamed on surge in Covid-19 patients admission.
Nairobi Hospital had written to the Cabinet Secretary for Labour, Simon Chelugui, about their intention to fire a section of their staff as it also admitted that it was overwhelmed by new admission of patients and is incurring losses.
In May 2020 medical workers union also went to court to challenge the hospital move that forced employees to work overtime in order to cope with the rising numbers of Covid-19 patients.
Cancer warrior and without doubt the most hardworking immediate former Kibra MP Ken Okoth knew he had less than a day to live.
According to his personal Doctor Ahmed Kalebi, the late Hon Okoth made it clear to his family, close friends and doctors that he should not be placed on life support in the event that his condition worsens.
But according to close friends talking to the media, the doctors were forced to put him on life support after multiple organ failure on Thursday night.
And on Friday afternoon, the doctors were forced, as per wishes of the late Okoth, to switch off the support machine.
Just a day before Hon Okoth succumbed to cancer, PSC under Justin Muturi met at City Hall and discussed Hon Okoth’s health condition and the piling medical bill.
Ken Okoth succumbed to colorectal cancer at 4pm at the Nairobi Hospital where he had been rushed after his condition worsened.
Ken Okoth was admitted to the Nairobi Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit at around 5pm on Thursday.
Imran Okoth, the late Okoth’s brother broke the sad news stating that Ken’s condition worsened at 8pm on Thursday forcing doctors to place him on the life support machine against his wishes.
“We want to inform the nation, the people of Kibra, that the leader they trust, a servant leader, Honourable Ken Okoth, is no more. He passed on a while ago,” Mr Imran said.
“Ken had just recently returned to the country from Paris, France, where he had spent months battling the disease,” Mr Imran added.
Hon Ken Okoth at Kibra Music Fest that were held at Moi Girls School, Nairobi.
Ken Has joined the league of young vibrant and influential leaders who were prepared rather ready to face the end of humanity.
According to Mr. Koinange’s revelations, the late Collymore had also been informed by his doctors that he, just as Ken Okoth, did not have a long time to live.
“…he had been told by his doctors not to make any long-term plans; in fact he was told if he makes it past July he’ll be lucky. So he knew. I have never seen anyone prepared for death like I did this man,” said Jeff Koinange.
Just like the Late Safaricom’s CEO, Ken Okoth was ready rather prepared to meet his creator.
“Even though we both knew that the time had drawn nigh & cherished every new day as bonus time having accepted & prepared for the eventuality, I can’t help but feel severe pain of the tragic loss forcing tears in my eyes ? Fare-thee-well #KenOkoth?? We remain connected forever” Dr Kalebi tweeted.
😢 Even though we both knew that the time had drawn nigh & cherished every new day as bonus time having accepted & prepared for the eventuality, I can’t help but feel severe pain of the tragic loss forcing tears in my eyes 😭 Fare-thee-well #KenOkoth🙏🏾 We remain connected forever pic.twitter.com/qlPCqWcQkb
— 𝗗𝗿 𝗔𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗞𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗶, 𝕆𝔾𝕎 (@DrAhmedKalebi) July 26, 2019
The late Ken Okoths’s body has been transferred to Lee Funeral Home Pending preparation for his final send of.
