Nairobi: Sigh of Relief as 1-Year-Old Detained in Hospital Over KSh 3m Bill Is Finally Released
- Baby Vickam was held at a private hospital in Eastleigh, Nairobi, after being placed in the ICU and accumulating a KSh 3 million medical bill
- His mother, Esther Ulavu, was reportedly denied access to him by the facility and was left in the dark about his condition
- Ulavu tearfully pleaded for help, prompting public outrage and calls for investigations into the woman’s predicament
The family of baby Vickam, who had been detained at a private hospital in the Eastleigh area of Nairobi, can now breathe a sigh of relief as he has finally been released.
Source: Youtube
The one-year-old boy was supposed to have been taken to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) from Loitoktok Sub-County Hospital, but the ambulance driver instead dropped him and his mother at the private facility.
The mother, Esther Ulavu, claimed she was not allowed to see her child, with the hospital demanding that she first clear the KSh 3 million bill as her baby was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Was baby Vickam taken to KNH?
Following a public plea for help, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) intervened and ordered the hospital to release the child.
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KMPDC officials also visited the hospital to ensure that baby Vickam was transferred to a different facility for specialised treatment.
Ulavu could not help but smile as her beloved baby was wheeled into the ambulance at around 5 pm on Wednesday, July 30.
She expressed joy and renewed hope for her son's recovery as they were moved to Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital.
"I would really like to thank KMPDC, who facilitated my son's transfer," she said.
Source: Youtube
Will Esther Ulavu pay KSh 3m hospital bill?
She called on Kenyans to stand by her and her family, especially in helping to pay the KSh 3 million bill.
"We have signed an agreement on how and when we will pay the bill. I don’t know where we will get the amount from, but at least my child now has a fighting chance," said Ulavu.
Following the incident, KMPDC, alongside other relevant authorities, launched investigations to ensure those found culpable are held accountable.
According to a report by Citizen TV, preliminary investigations revealed that the hospital had been offering services it was not accredited to provide.
As such, it would allegedly be barred from billing some of those services on the Social Health Authority (SHA) portal as investigations continue.
Did other patients transfer from the Eastleigh hospital?
Following baby Vickam’s story, another family whose kin had been in the private hospital’s ICU also withdrew him and transferred him to a different facility.
The family noted that their patient had been admitted to the hospital’s ICU for two months with no improvement.
David Mwaura, a relative of the patient, said they decided to move him because the hospital bill kept rising and his condition was not improving.
“He was referred to KNH, but the ambulance driver said that with his pending bill, he would not make it there, and that’s how we ended up at this hospital,” said Joseph Karanja, another relative.
Why did hospital detain over 50 women in Kiambu?
Previously, TUKO.co.ke reported that more than 50 women were detained at Thika Level 5 Hospital over unpaid medical bills.
Fortunately, Kiambu County Governor Kimani Wamatangi intervened and cleared the accumulated maternity bill of KSh 6 million.
Most of the mothers were not covered by the Linda Mama programme, and some had already been approved for waivers.
Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
