Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja has directed that all patients held in county hospitals due to unpaid bills be released during the holiday season.
Sakaja pledged to clear all the bills on their behalf so that they can go and celebrate Christmas with their families.
Sakaja spoke during “The Governors’ Christmas Tree lighting at City Hall; an event held annually by the Nairobi City County Government”.
He did not reveal how many patients are affected by the detention.
Officials said there are tens of such patients.
Sakaja also donated Sh1 million in addition to the donations made by Nairobi County Government Staff and several donors and partners.
The amounts collected will go towards putting a smile on the less fortunate during this festive season.
Sakaja also took to social media on Monday and said the patients needed to be reunited with their families during the Christmas holidays and that his administration would pay their outstanding bills.
He added it was even more expensive for most hospitals to cater to patients’ needs and expenses while they were in the hospital, and thus there was no need for them to remain confined.
“I’ve directed that all persons detained at our county hospitals because of non-payment be released to go home to be with their families this Christmas,” Sakaja wrote on Twitter.
“We will pay. In many cases, it is even more expensive to cater for them in terms of food, etc and patients who need space miss it.”
The announcement comes two months after his impromptu visit to Mama Lucy hospital in Embakasi, where he revealed the sorry state of hospital services and congestion.
“Mothers should not be sharing beds, patients not being attended to on time, drugs not being available. I apologize on behalf of the previous administration as well as the NMS for the state of things. We will take better care of you. I will not rest until we achieve this,” the governor assured,” said the governor in September.