MP Nyikal to Health Ministry: Leave hospitals open, punish offenders

Seme MP Dr. James Nyikal has warned the Ministry of Health and the Social Health Authority (SHA) against closing hospitals over administrative lapses, saying such actions punish patients instead of those responsible.

Nyikal, who chairs the National Assembly Health Committee, urged the government to hold individuals accountable rather than disrupt services for thousands of Kenyans.

“We would say that the first step should be to deal with the people who are actually culpable and get hospitals functioning properly, because if this is not done, the public will continue to suffer,” said the MP.

Nyikal cited St. Mary's Mission Hospital in Mumias, Kakamega County, which, according to him, is currently closed not because of any wrongdoing, but due to changes in the systems.

“It is better to identify the culprits and deal with them firmly, but keep facilities open. When hospitals are shut, it is patients who suffer,” he said during a fact-finding visit to St. Mary’s Mission Hospital in Mumias, Kakamega County.

The committee was assessing operations under SHA, which runs the Primary Healthcare Fund, the Social Health Insurance Fund, and the Emergency, Chronic & Critical Illness Fund.

Nyikal noted that delays in claims processing have left many facilities, including faith-based hospitals, facing financial strain and in some cases closure.

He stressed that reforms must not come at the expense of access to care, urging the ministry to fix problems within SHA to restore confidence.

“Hospitals must remain functional, whether public, private, or faith-based,” he said.

Lurambi MP Titus Khamala echoed the concerns, calling on SHA to protect faith-based facilities that serve vulnerable communities.

He criticized the abrupt phase-out of NHIF, saying hospitals were left stranded with unpaid arrears and no clear support system.

Comparing SHA to “a new wife in the home,” Khamala warned that overreliance on automated systems without human support risks leaving patients locked out of services.

“When you speak to a computer and it says no, with nobody else to talk to, that’s a crisis,” he said, urging a review of the system to balance automation with accessible human support.