From Sh800,000 bill, MP Shah takes Sh25,000 from Matilda Anyango's kin

What you need to know:

  • On Wednesday, the hospital said the Sh858,355 bill was “interim” and had since been revised.

  • However, Toseef Din, M.P Shah Hospital chief operations officer, did not disclose the revised figure.

  • “Ms Anyango’s family has been given a discount on compassionate grounds, which had initially been offered to the bereaved family,’’ he said in a statement.

  • But speaking to the Nation, Mr Daniel Moro, Matilda’s elder brother, on Wednesday said the hospital eventually released the body after paying Sh25,000 only.

M.P Shah Hospital says it has reached an “amicable” agreement with the family of Matilda Anyango, the 32-year-old woman who died after accumulating a Sh858,355 bill for emergency care.

Ms Anyango succumbed to her injuries at the hospital after being stabbed by robbers in Kangemi, Nairobi.

'INTERIM'

On Wednesday, the hospital said the Sh858,355 bill was “interim” and had since been revised.

However, Toseef Din, M.P Shah Hospital chief operations officer, did not disclose the revised figure.

“Ms Anyango’s family has been given a discount on compassionate grounds, which had initially been offered to the bereaved family,’’ he said in a statement.

But speaking to the Nation, Mr Daniel Moro, Matilda’s elder brother, on Wednesday said the hospital eventually released the body after he paid Sh25,000.

“I first went to the hospital on Tuesday after being called to witness the postmortem conducted by the government pathologist. Later, I was told I could take the body but delays in the system saw the clearance office close for the day before we could finalise the process,” he said.

“I was told to go back on Wednesday where upon arrival, I was directed to the CEO’s office and asked how much we had. (I) told them we were only able to raise the Sh25,000 and (they) told (me) to pay what we had and take away the body.”

The family has since transferred Matilda’s body to Chiromo mortuary, Nairobi.

SH858,355

In the statement, the private hospital confirmed that family of the deceased was at liberty to collect her body for burial.

“Ms Anyango received the best medical care, and every effort was put in place to save her life. She was attended to by all necessary specialists and clinical staff required, during this emergent situation,’’ Mr Din said.

Ms Anyango was rushed to the facility’s Accident and Emergency department on the night of April 11 after she was found unconscious near her place of residence.

According to the hospital, the health workers resuscitated her before she was transferred to theatre for emergency surgery.

Her bill ran up to Sh858,355, with the surgeon’s fee costing Sh300,000, said the hospital.

The charges came under scrutiny, touching off outrage on social media after activist Boniface Mwangi tweeted about the plight of Matilda's family.

But the hospital denied detaining the woman's body, saying despite although Matilda did not stay in the facility for long, the bill was justified by medical procedures conducted on her.

“Any medical bill is not dictated only by the duration of stay in the hospital but by the extent and complexity of the medical procedures accorded to the patient,” the hospital said in a statement.

'SH200,000' DEPOSIT

A breakdown of the bill totalling was shared widely by Mr Mwangi.

It showed that the hospital charged Sh105,000 for transfusion medicine, Sh157,285 as pharmacy charges, Sh100,000 for the anaesthetist, Sh300,000 for the surgeons among other expenses.

And in a bid to show that the hospital was out to save Matilda’s life, Mr Din said: “It is important to note that her situation was determined so dire that she was admitted without any financial commitment as per the M.P Shah hospital’s emergency protocol.”

But the family tells of a different ordeal.

Upon arrival to the hospital, Mr Moro said, they were asked deposit a sum of Sh200,000 before their patient could be attended to.

“When we told the matron that we were not able to raise that kind of money, especially since it was nighttime, the matron told us it was okay, they would take care of Matilda as we looked for the money,” Mr Moro said.

“Our idea was to have her stabilised then transfer to either KNH or St. Mary’s. We just rushed her to M.P Shah because it was the nearest facility.”