Sick prisoners suffer as top hospital eyes pending bills
A standoff is looming between the management of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Eldoret, and the Kenya Prisons Service over bills amounting to millions of shillings.
The development has endangered the lives of hundreds of inmates at Eldoret GK Prison seeking special medical services at the hospital.
Speaking to People Daily’, many inmates seeking treatment at the facility claimed they were being taken in circles yet they were suffering.
Some said they have been camping at the hospital — the largest in Western Kenya — for the past two days without getting any assistance.
“I have been here since yesterday at 11am. What they are telling us is that there are pending bills that the prisons department should settle before we are treated,” said Samuel Muiruri.
He suffers from high blood pressure. “The concerned institutions should have mercy on suffering prisoners,” he added.“We wonder why we are suffering yet this is a matter which can be resolved by the government,” he said.
Another inmate who is to undergo a minor operation claimed that the hospital demanded cash before he could be attended to. “They wanted more than Sh3,000 for me to be operated on,” said the inmate who is suffering from throat-related ailments.
The prison’s management said medical facilities were defying court orders by demanding payment first before attending to prisoners.
The hospital’s chief executive officer, Wilson Aruasa, acknowledged there was a problem but maintained that the hospital treats all inmates.
“I, however, challenge the prison department to have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the hospital, just like any other institution,” he said.
Data from Eldoret GK Prison indicate that, every week, three inmates seek medical treatment at MTRH.
This is not the first time a standoff is being witnessed between the prisons department and MTRH over bills. Three years ago, the facility suspended medical services to inmates due to Sh15 million pending bills.
Suspended services
The same was witnessed three years ago when the facility suspended medical services to inmates due over a Sh15 million pending bill.
The hospital also suspended mental assessment of murder suspects during the same period.
This forced police officers and prison warders to start shouldering for the cost of mental assessment for murder suspects.
Dr Aruasa then said the prisons department had not paid Sh15 million debt which had been pending for two years.
The medic had insisted that the affected facilities ought to meet their contractual obligations after they were given adequate notice.
