A doctor who had been treating patients for free at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has died after failing to access medical attention. According to a report that appeared in the Daily Nation newspaper, Dr. Daniel Ndege Chacha had sought for treatment at KNH without success.
Apparently, he was denied medical attention because he could not afford it. Left with no option, the 37-year-old sought help from a different facility, from where he was referred back to Kenyatta. However, by this time, his condition had deteriorated and he succumbed to his illness.
The report in the newspaper says that Dr. Chacha was a medical registrar specializing in obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta National Hospital Campus. He had been working at KNH as he pursued his Master’s at the University of Nairobi.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners , Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) says that Dr. Chacha had been denied treatment at KNH because he could not afford to pay for it. Apparently, Dr. Chacha did not have a medical cover or cash at hand to pay KNH for treatment – where he had been treating patients.
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KMPDU Deputy Secretary Dr. Dennis Miskellah told the newspaper that Dr. Chacha had no salary at KNH and had been working on locum basis to support himself and his family.
“He visited a local healthcare facility and was mismanaged. By the time he was being referred to KNH, he had developed an acute liver injury, which affected his kidneys. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for a week. He passed away on March 17. The total bill came to around Sh300,000 but SHA said they can only pay about Sh30,000,” Dr. Miskellah told the media.
However, KNH has allegedly moved to exonerate itself by claiming that Dr. Chacha was not a KNH doctor, but was just a resident doctor at the facility, and as such he was not on KNH’s payroll for the hospital to remit funds to SHA for his treatment.
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