The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) has cautioned all the private hospitals that are charging deposit money to ICU patients before admitting them.
A random survey conducted by the KMPDC on major private Nairobi hospitals reveal that patients are being charged a deposit of up to KSh650,000 for an ICU bed.
The letter dated March 23 and addressed to Health CS Mutahi Kagwe revealed the shocking amount of deposit money patients have to dish out to be admitted in Nairobi Hospital, Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), Nairobi West Hospital and MP Shah Hospital.
MP Shah Hospital, for instance, charges KSh650,000 as deposit in order to admit a patient at the ICU ward. The hospital has only 6 beds which are currently full.
Nairobi West Hospital on the other hand charges KSh300,000 for one to be admitted at their facility, which has a total of 46 ICU beds. At the moment, the hospital has 23 patients at the ICU beds.
With all its 32 ICU beds which are full, KUTRRH charges KSh200,000.
Nairobi Hospital has 36 ICU beds and charges a total of KSh130,000. However, the hospital does not require the money to be paid as long as there is guarantee of payment.
The only hospital that does not demand for deposit is KNH. It is leading in ICU capacity with 86 beds.
Kenya has 1,073 patients admitted in various hospitals across the country, out of which, 141 were admitted in ICU, 34 on ventilatory support machines and 99 on supplementary oxygen.