Situation At KNH Gets Worse As CEO Is Accused Of Running Down The Hospital

Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) CEO Dr Evans Kamuri has been accused of running down the institution, even as the situation at the country’s biggest hospital gets worse.

Recently, Kahawa Tungu reported how the institution was faced with a crisis, following increased deaths of patients including KNH staff.

Despite the issue being highlighted, more patients and staffers are still dying for lack of oxygen while the management turns a blind eye, according to a source.

“So the issue of lack of oxygen in KNH, which was previously highlighted, is now taking a new turn. Everyone in the hospital is complaining and questioning why the situation has to exist in KNH at a time like this when oxygen is highly needed the most in the hospital. Staff continue to die in large numbers still. The management remains arrogant about the happenings,” says a source.

Also, Kahawa Tungu is informed that there has been misreporting by KNH management to paint a bad picture to the doctors who are pursuing their masters in UoN as they work in KNH.

Read: Puzzle Of Increased Deaths at KNH As Oxygen Supplies Sublime

Senior doctors in the hospital are unhappy with how the institution is run. Some have even resigned.

“The CEO takes issues so personal and arrogantly and if he happens not to like you, or if you seem firm in your doings then he starts to fight you from nowhere. He is currently running the institution as his own house where no one should query anything and if you do then he assumes you don’t want to support him. He’s been heard severally saying so loudly that nothing can be done to him “na mkitaka endeni mahali mnataka (go/report where you want). He once told doctors to go to hell with their complaints,” adds an inside source.

“He micromanages HR and supplies departments to a point where the people in charge of the dockets are just puppets and toys who just act according to the instructions from him. Several senior doctors have been threatened and others demoted just because of their stand in quality service delivery and firmness on how things should be done. The boss thrives in shortcuts.”

Doctors have been having meetings to see how KNH can improve their services and find a way out on how the issue of lack of oxygen which has increased deaths so abnormally can be sorted. They blamed the management for the increased deaths and advised them to take proper measures so as to make sure that the issues don’t continue.

Read: KNH Doctor Lydia Wahura Takes Own Life At Facility’s Parking Lot

The management instead turned against them and immediately and arrogantly terminated their contracts without even following the HR procedures. This is the same thing that happened to madam Mugambi, the former director of nursing who disagreed with him and was dumped to the ministry among others. It’s the trend.

KNH currently doesn’t have a board of management. The term of the previous board members expired and they are yet to be replaced. It’s only the chairman who is in office since his term started later than the others. This has brought a serious gap in the management since there is no one to oversee what these cartels are doing.

The chairman of the board has been termed as a weak one and one who cannot question anything. He sees and hears what is happening but does totally nothing. At this time the business is taking up more hospitals so that the pool of money to fetch from is increased. The union also is quiet and in sleep mode.

Lack of insurance cover for staff

KNH has currently lost many staff to covid. A bigger reason being the issue of lack of oxygen. Even with this, HR and the management are acting very insensitive and inhumane.

“When the dependents ask for compensation, they are told to wait. Since the start of July, the dependents whose relatives have died cannot and have not been compensated. Two months down the line and to add salt to the injury, they are told by HR that they don’t know when the payment can be done since the hospital doesn’t have insurance cover for the staff. This has been the highest level of negligence. On enquiring further, you are told procurement has not awarded the tender and so there are no insurance covers,” says our source.

Read: Family Faults KNH for Burying Kin Without Their Consent

This is the third month with the atrocity going on, while the management team is buying new cars and houses without minding the most sensitive matters of staff and patients honestly.

The arrogance and ignorance is majorly because they enjoy protection from the ministry bosses. The procurement department now says they are handling the matter and reliable sources have informed staff that the matter of insurance has a corruption case that is under investigation and the management is busy lobbying and dishing money to silence the case.

“Every employee is worried about what could happen to them or their dependents in case of the worst.  Procurement and HR departments are the worst run in KNH. Because that’s where all the loopholes exist. They’ve made sure they don’t follow the law. Kamuri is the law,” adds our source.

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