Court orders KNH to release boy detained over Sh1.2m bill
The Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has been ordered to immediately release a 2-year-old boy detained at the facility over medical bills amounting to over Sh1.16 million.
The child, known as CMM was discharged by doctors at KNH on May 9 this year but was detained after his parents were unable clear medical bills.
Justice Hedwig Ong’ondi directed the hospital to release the baby pending the hearing of the suit filed by his parents, Bernard Muriuki and Christine Njeri.
Muriuki who is employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) together with his wife lodged the constitutional petition at Milimani High Court challenging the hospital’s decision to continue detaining their son.
The court also ordered TSC to deduct Sh6,000 from Muriuki’s monthly salary and remit the same to KNH in respect to the outstanding hospital bill pending the determination of the lawsuit.
An affidavit filed in court by the father of the minor states that his son’s rights had been severely infringed upon by the hospital through the continuous detention without any further treatment until the incurred bill of over Sh1,166,423 is cleared.
“It is in the interest of justice that an order be issued compelling KNH to release the minor CMM from the unlawful detention,” says Muriuki’s lawyer Moses Angaya.
Muriuki states that his son was first admitted to the KNH on April 6 together with the mother Njeri and were supposed to be discharged on May 9.
He adds they had sought treatment in far-flung medical centres like Bliss Medical Centre and Nairobi West Hospital since March 21 this year before they were eventually referred to KNH.
The petitioners state that they incurred a bill of Sh442,916.79 at Nairobi West Hospital which was settled by their insurance medical cover known as Minet Kenya Insurance Brokers Limited. “In an unfortunate case of events, our other child known as DM had also been simultaneously hospitalised at Chiromo Lane Hospital incurring a bill of Sh714,815 of which Minet paid Sh355,440 leaving a balance of Sh359,375,” states the court papers.
Angaya states that at the time the minor was discharged from KNH, the parents were informed that they had a pending hospital bill of Sh651,959.
Insurance cover
“We were shocked to learn that we had unpaid hospital bills because to our knowledge, Minet was covering all the medical expenses,” the parents state. “All material times during the treatment of the minor, Minet had approved all treatment offered to the minor at KNH including ambulance services and the admission of the minor and at no point did Minet inform us that our medical insurance cover limit had been exhausted.”
Being alarmed by the unpaid hospital bill, the parents claim they received further communication from Minet informing them not to worry about the bill and that they were working on it, only for them to be later informed that they had exhausted the applicable inpatient limit under the insurance cover.
Parents further state that due to Minet’s failure to inform them in time of the exhaustion of the insurance limit, they had no money set aside to pay the hospital bills or have the opportunity to make other plans to offset the bills.
Consequently, they were unable to settle the hospital bill at KNH and the same led to the detention of the minor together with his mother.
The child’s mother however left the hospital on August 30 2022 after being assaulted by KNH staff on August 29, 2022 and a complaint lodged with the police.
Forceful separation
“The assault led to the forceful separation of mother and child and the minor was left with no parental care to date,” says Angaya in the court papers.
Days after the mother of the minor left the hospital facility they decided to hire someone to look after their two year old son while he was being detained at KNH who they claim they pay Sh8,000 per month.
Muriuki and his wife state that they are under no obligation to pay any expenses that may have been incurred by KNH in connection with the unlawful detention.
They claim they have tried to raise money to offset the hospital bills and have managed to raise Sh42,000 which was not enough to offset the hospital bill. The case will be heard on January 31, 2023.
