The National and County governments are being urged to engage the private sector to identify gaps that the private sector can fill in the provision of Universal Health Care (UHC) which is among the governments big four Agenda.
A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) indicates that private public partnership is key in achieving the healthcare program, which under devolution of healthcare has clearly created a huge need for investment in healthcare sector.
‘’National or county governments will not be able to bridge the infrastructure gap and there is therefore a need to look at private sector funding to bridge this gap,’’ the report says.
Additionally the contracting authority of healthcare PPPs (county or national government) has to ensure clarity about what they expect out of the PPP arrangement and communicate that to the private sector at the outset as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which should be part of the contract between the contracting authority and private sector.
‘’There should be a mechanism to ensure that patient numbers remain within agreed parameters. One way to ensure this happens is to have a referral system that works. It is not uncommon for patients with common illnesses to visit Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) whereas there are many lower level hospitals that could treat such ailments.’’ The report reads.
According to the report the design of PPP projects in healthcare should also make consideration based on community needs in healthcare.
This report comes at a time when the health sector is receiving a 46 per cent rise in the 2018/2019 budget up from Sh61.6 billion received in 2017/18 to Sh90 billion.