Scandal: Ministry probes Mbagathi Hospital Sh3k ‘death tax’
Mbagathi Hospital is on the spot for levying a Sh3,000 disposal fee on every mother whose infant dies on delivery at the facility in contravention of the State’s free maternity programme.
The Health ministry has confirmed receiving complaints with Principal Secretary Peter Tum saying it has since ordered the hospital to submit a report on the matter.
“The free maternity programme takes care of the mother and child from ante-natal to post-natal, including the disposal of the dead infants,” Mr Tum told the Business Daily.
A nurse at the hospital who sought anonymity said mothers are detained until they pay the fee which is not receipted under the hospital financial records.
Mbagathi Hospital Medical Superintendent Joseph Karani had earlier said that the fees cater for transport and burial expenses of the foetus and dead infants raising suspicion when he said it was just a private arrangement with the mothers.
He said that mothers are also free to take away their infants and bury them adding that they have since stopped the practice amid investigations by the Health ministry.