NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 17 - Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has warned doctors engaged in dual practice during official working hours that they risk deregistration starting January, as the government moves to curb what it describes as widespread fraud in public healthcare facilities.
Duale said the practice -- where doctors employed in public hospitals refer patients to private facilities they own or work in during official hours -- has become rampant, undermining service delivery in government institutions.
Speaking in Tharaka Nithi County during the commissioning of an ultra-modern Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and an amenity wing at Chuka Level 5 Hospital, the CS said new enforcement measures would take effect in January, targeting doctors working outside their assigned public facilities between 8am and 5pm.
He cited Kenyatta National Hospital as an example, noting that despite having 26 operating theatres and highly qualified specialists, patients are often given theatre or review dates weeks or months away, only to be redirected to private facilities linked to the same doctors for faster treatment.
"We are losing public resources while patients are being deliberately diverted to private facilities," Duale said.
The Health CS also directed the Digital Health Authority to take firm action against any claims submitted by doctors registered to public facilities but billing private hospitals during official working hours, warning that such claims would be treated as fraudulent.
Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki backed the move, accusing some doctors of using public hospitals as referral grounds to feed patients into their private practices. He said some county facilities are better equipped than the private hospitals patients are redirected to, but financial incentives continue to drive the behaviour.
Njuki criticised what he described as a growing trend among younger doctors seeking to hold multiple jobs for higher earnings, at the expense of public service delivery.
Duale said doctors' unions have been put on notice, insisting that accountability will be enforced and that the practice will no longer be tolerated.
The ICU commissioned at Chuka Level 5 Hospital is the first of its kind in the region, with an initial capacity of five beds and two isolation units for critically ill patients. The amenity wing is expected to offer enhanced services comparable to private hospital wards.