Doctors demand leadership overhaul at Nairobi Hospital
Consultant doctors from Kenya’s top private hospital have expressed frustration over the current situation at the facility, stating that the hospital’s reputation is declining.
The doctors, who had threatened to go on strike last Monday, say they will not admit new patients to The Nairobi Hospital unless it’s an emergency. However, they will continue to treat the patients already in the hospital.
In a press statement on Monday morning, Dr David Silverstein, famously known for being a former personal doctor to Kenya’s second president, Daniel Moi (deceased), said that the hospital, where he has worked for almost five decades, needs a leadership overhaul to reinstate its previous status.
Just last week, The Nairobi Hospital board responded to the doctors’ threats to down their tools as being ‘choreographed’ and ‘out of frustration’.
In a rejoinder, the doctors distance themselves from any purported drama, saying that they are frustrated by the system and that they are doing it for the welfare of the patients and not for themselves.
“The truth is that all this is not choreographed. I wouldn’t be here if it were choreographed, I certainly do not like being in the public eye unnecessarily,” said Dr Silverstein.
Dr Frank Mwongera, a nephrologist (kidney specialist) at the hospital, termed the ‘choreographed’ allegations as one that undermines them and does not depict the efforts that so many consultants have made to correct the mess happening in The Nairobi Hospital.
“We would not be here because we are fighting over certain positions; anybody who has come here is not interested in any board position. What we want is to correct the mess that is in The Nairobi Hospital,” he said.
“The Nairobi Hospital has been bleeding for the last four years to the extent where major suppliers of drugs or vital equipment required to treat the patients are not doing that anymore. This should worry anybody who cares about the patients at Nairobi Hospital. Staff have now been demoralised. Quite a number of them were fired, but those who can get jobs elsewhere are doing so,” he explained.
Dr Job Obwaka, an obstetrician-gynaecologist, alleged that some services, such as doctors’ admission rights, are being threatened.
“This is a big blow to upcoming doctors who are being coached. This has trickled down to the nurses as well as other cadres. Right now, the hospital is in the Intensive Care Unit, it will take a lot of effort to bring it back to the premier institution that it has been,” he said.
The doctors decry the emphasis on projects and not on service delivery for the client (patients).
“You cannot develop state-of-the-art projects and forget why you are there. We exist because of the clients. That is a big element of frustration and soon we may see brain drain from The Nairobi Hospital,” he said.
The doctors say that the availability of theatre for the surgeons can be frustrating.
“If I have a patient now, it will not take less than three or four hours before getting help. We sit in the doctor’s waiting room for about six hours. That works negatively, and exposes patients to dangers of prolonged waiting time,” he said.
Dr Silverstein explained that altercations started in 2019 when the board was considered non-functional, and for the first time, the hospital called for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). This resulted in the resignation of some of the board members at the time for their non-commitment to steer the hospital forward.
Before then, the hospital elections for the board were seamless, transparent and competitive and only those who made the cut could get a seat on the table.
During the EGM, some directors were elected to stand in for six months awaiting elections.
Since then, the hospital has had two boards, with four virtual amendments of their constitution.
“The board of directors changed from being non-executive officers to executive board and by amending the constitution, they awarded themselves a generous remuneration. Elections were understandably virtual during the Covid-19 period,” explains Dr Silverstein.
He laments that during the virtual sessions, members of the Kenya Hospital Association, the hospital’s owners, were asked to send their questions virtually, only for those to be cherry-picked to avoid criticism.
Consequently, their issues were allegedly not considered.
“The only way to save our hospital is by an EGM to retire our current board of directors and replace them with new directors,” he said.
In a response to the claims by the consultant doctors and the KHA, the hospital’s board denied any wrongdoing at a press conference last week.
hshikanda@ke.nationmedia.com
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