REVEALED: Amount family paid MP Shah to get Sh860k patient’s body
The family of the woman who succumbed to her injuries at MP Shah Hospital paid Sh25,000 after the hospital ‘revised’ the initial ‘interim’ bill of Sh850,000.
Speaking to Nation on Wednesday, Daniel Moro, the elder brother of the deceased Matilda Anyango, said that the hospital agreed to release the body after receiving the payment.
“I first went to the hospital on Tuesday after being called to witness the postmortem conducted by the government pathologist. Later, I was told I could take the body but delays in the system saw the clearance office close for the day before we could finalise the process,” Mr Moro said.
“I was told to go back on Wednesday where upon arrival I was directed to the CEO’s office, asked how much we had, told them we were only able to raise the Sh25,000. I was told to pay what we had and take away the body,” he said adding that they later transferred Matilda’s body to Chiromo mortuary.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the private hospital said the family was now free to collect her body for burial.
“Ms Anyango’s family has been given a discount on compassionate grounds on the bill which had initially been offered to the bereaved family,’’ said Toseef Din, Chief Operations Officer at M.P Shah Hospital.
Ms Anyango was rushed to the facility’s Accident and Emergency department on the night of April 11 after she was found unconscious near her place of residence.
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According to the hospital, the health workers resuscitated her before she was transferred to theater for emergency surgery.
“Ms Anyango received the best medical care, and every effort was put in place to save her life. She was attended to by all necessary specialists and clinical staff required, during this emergent situation,’’ Mr Din said.
The hospital now claims that the bill in question was only an interim bill and has since been revised. They however did not disclose the revised figure.
“Ms Anyango’s family has been given a discount on compassionate grounds on the bill which had initially been offered to the bereaved family,” added Mr Din.
The exorbitant charges that ran up to Sh850, 000 with the surgeon’s fee costing Sh300,000 has come under scrutiny causing a public outrage since activist Boniface Mwangi shared the plight of the family on social media this week.
But the hospital has denied detaining the lifeless body of Matilda, saying through its Facebook and Twitter platforms, that despite the fact that Matilda did not stay in the facility for long, the bill was justified by medical procedures conducted on her when she was admitted with a stab wound.
“Any medical bill is not dictated only by the duration of stay in the hospital but by the extent and complexity of the medical procedures accorded to the patient,” the hospital said in a statement.
BILL BREAKDOWN
A breakdown of the bill totalling to Sh858,355 was shared widely by activist Boniface Mwangi. It showed that the hospital charged Sh105,000 for transfusion medicine, Sh157,285 as pharmacy charges, Sh100,000 for the anaesthetist, Sh300,000 for the surgeons among other expenses.
In a bid to show that it was out to save life, the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer went on to say: ‘’It is important to note that her situation was determined so dire, that she was admitted without any financial commitment as per the M.P Shah hospital’s emergency protocol.”
But the family tells of a different story.
Upon arrival to the hospital, Mr Moro said, they were asked deposit a sum of Sh200,000 before their patient could be attended to.
“When we told the matron that we were not able to raise that kind of money especially since it was nighttime, the matron told us it was okay, they would take care of Matilda as we looked for the money,” Mr Moro said.
“Our idea was to have her stabilized then transfer to either KNH or St Mary’s Hospital. We just rushed her to MP Shah because it was the nearest facility.”
This is not the first time the private facility is coming under scrutiny over how the amount of charges patients are slapped with, as it has been accused of asking for financial commitments to the upwards of Sh600,000 before admitting patients.