Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has issued a firm warning to doctors who operate private clinics during official working hours, saying the practice is crippling service delivery in public hospitals.
Speaking in Tharaka Nithi County during the commissioning of a new intensive care unit and amenity wing at Chuka Level Five Hospital, Duale accused some government-employed doctors of abandoning public duties to attend to private patients.
The CS said the trend amounts to fraud and has worsened congestion, delays and patient suffering in public health facilities. He further alleged that some doctors deliberately divert patients from public hospitals to their own private clinics.
To curb the practice, Duale directed the Digital Health Authority to block reimbursement of insurance claims from private facilities during official working hours starting January. He said payments under the Social Health Authority will only be processed based on a doctor’s registered place of public employment.
Duale also criticized some private hospitals for charging patients excessively, calling for discipline and accountability across the health sector. He warned that the government would no longer tolerate practices that undermine public healthcare.
