Clinical officers now call for an overhaul of SHA board leadership

Clinical officers have called for an overhaul of the Social Health Authority (SHA) board, a day after the ouster of Chief Executive Officer Elijah Wachira.

Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (Kuco) yesterday alleged that the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) was rushed, leading to a crisis in primary healthcare services.

The health workers, who are meeting in Mombasa, said the new scheme had also failed because the government failed to register more than 1,000 facilities.

On Tuesday, Wachira was directed to proceed on a compulsory 90-day leave. The move came after President William Ruto issued strict instructions that flaws bedevilling the transition must be solved in 10 days.

Sources told The Standard that before he flew to Coast for the Mashujaa Day celebrations, Ruto launched a broadside against those he said were frustrating the implementation of SHA, one of his pet projects. 

In his address in Kwale, Ruto assured the 1,743 NHIF employees of their jobs amid claims that they were sabotaging the authority.

This contradicts an earlier statement from the Ministry of Health that said the defunct NHIF staff would re-apply and be vetted before joining SHA.

But Kuco Chairman Peterson Wachira said SHA laws are good but the policies have caused discrimination and should be reviewed. He said the removal of the SHA chief executive officer would have no impact and called for the firing of the entire board.

Yesterday, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Baraza said there was no room for failure. “We cannot allow SHA to fail. We must work together to ensure its success because it the presents main agenda,” she said in a speech by Kenya Medical Training College CEO Kelly Oluoch.

But clinical officers said the transition should have taken at least six months to avoid the current crisis. The union claimed there was sabotage by some SHA employees and the board.

Wachira claimed that about 30 civil servants died because they could not access dialysis in time. He said SHA failed to register 1,000 health facilities manned by clinical officers, blocking more than 4.5 million Kenyans from accessing primary health care.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Kenya Clinical Officers Association (KCOA) annual conference, Wachira said the health centres under the Kenya Clinical Officers Council were credited by the defunct NHIF.

Wachira noted that the SHA board has only recognized hospitals registered under the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council.

KCOA President, Albert Taiti, said low registration to SHA was due to a lack of clear information about the scheme.