Karen Hospital Sues Patient Stuck in the Facility Since February 2019 over Sh23 Million Bill

The Karen Hospital has sued a female patient who was allegedly abandoned by her family over a medical bill of over Sh23 million.

The woman identified as Jackline Nelima Mutaki has been at the health facility since February 16th, 2019, according to court documents.

The hospital’s CEO Betty Gikonyo said the patient was booked for an elective Cesarean Section after undergoing an obstetric ultrasound.

After the routine preparation for the surgical procedure, spinal anesthesia was administered but she developed complications.

“That the procedure was delayed for some minutes to enable the patient to be resuscitated and after the operation, the respondent was taken to the High Dependency Unit for post-operative management,” court papers read in part.

Gikonyo added that Nelima has been undergoing airway maintenance and physiotherapy as she continues to receive treatment for recurrent chest infections.

The hospital says efforts to trace her family have been futile and the bill continues to accumulate day by day.

The facility is asking the court to allow it to discharge Nelima for home-based care or refer her to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) as she is indisposed and there is no family member to give consent.

Family consent must be granted before a patient is referred to another facility or taken to home-based care as per the Kenya Health Sector Referral Implementation Guideline.

"The hospital bill is too high for the patient or family to pay and Karen Hospital can no longer afford to keep her in their facility," reads the court documents.

The case will be mentioned on September 23rd.