The Council of Governors (COG) and the Ministry of Health have now agreed to scrap the controversial Managed Equipment Services (MES) health scheme.
The service will now be referred to as National Equipment Support to Counties (NESC) which will be undertaken by the national government.
This emerged at the end of a two-day consultative meeting in Naivasha where the national government and the counties agreed to streamline health services.
MES was started in 2015 by the Ministry of Health on behalf of the 47 devolved units to supply and equip two hospitals in every county with high-tech machines to manage chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes.
The contract entailed leasing of assorted medical equipment for renal, laboratory, ICU, radiology and theatre to at least two hospitals in each of the 47 counties for a seven-year period.
COG Health Committee Chair Muthomi Njuki lauded the move to scrap MES for NESC noting that the former was shrouded in controversy.
“We are happy to announce the death of MES which for a long time was shrouded in mystery right from inception and we are ready for change,” he said.
Njuki who is also the Tharaka Nithi Governor thanked the Ministry of Health for the decision to terminate MES noting that the new system would help improve service delivery to the people.
On her part, the CS for Health Susan Nakhumicha thanked the governors for giving the Ministry the mandate to execute MES through Intergovernmental Participation Agreements (IPAs).
“After so much noise we have agreed with the governors on the Managed Equipment Service scheme and we thank them for giving us the opportunity to provide the services,” she said.
COG chair Ann Waiguru said that all pending issues on Medical Equipment and related Services deployed by the National Government in Counties have been agreed upon by the two levels of Government.
Reading a joint communique, Waiguru said that the funding for level 1,2 and 3 facilities would be financed through a public financed mechanism and individual capitation.
“Level 4 and 5 Hospital will be financed through Social Health Insurance while Level 6 will be financed through a critical illness fund and Social Health Insurance,” she said.
