NHIF emergency care service has served 50,000 Kenyans, CEO Kamunyo says
Dr Peter Kamunyo, chief executive of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
More than 50,000 Kenyans have benefited from provision of 24-hour emergency road ambulance evacuations, the national insurance scheme has said.
The emergency care service, a partnership between National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and Emergency Plus Medical Services (E-Plus Services) through Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), has been in existence since 2014.
NHIF Chief Executive Officer Peter Kamunyo said the partnership has enabled low-income earners to benefit from countrywide unlimited emergency road evacuations.
He said the deal also sees E-Plus provide a range of services including emergency care or stabilisation on site and provision of high-quality pre-hospital care on transit as well as transportation of sick members or dependents for treatment to the nearest NHIF accredited health facilities.
“More than 50,000 Kenyans, from all walks of life, and counting, have benefitted from this noble service. These are some of the new services the NHIF has been adding to the medical scheme,” Dr Kamunyo said.
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Fully equipped ambulances and crew have been made available across the country with the nearest available ambulance dispatched to emergency locations based on membership validity.
According to the NHIF boss, any declared member of the NHIF national scheme can access the service by contacting the E-Plus dispatch centre on 0700 395 395/0738 395 395, or toll free number 1514 or through the NHIF contact Centre on 0800 720 801.
“The caller should state the principal member’s full name, NHIF number, location, nature of emergency, and telephone number,” he said.
One such beneficiary, Boniface Barasa, a Nairobi resident, will live to remember the day he nearly lost his life, but thanks to the service, he was rescued.
On the fateful day, Mr Barasa was riding his motorbike along Mombasa Road when he suddenly lost control of the bike near Ole Sereni Hotel veering off the road and crashing by the road side.
This incident left him with a fractured leg, and could not move. Luckily, a Good Samaritan came to his rescue and immediately called the E-Plus dispatch centre, which dispatched an ambulance to evacuate him.
“I don’t know how I would have survived this horrific accident were it not for NHIF and the E-plus team,” said Mr Barasa who continues to recuperate at home.
“They responded quickly with an ambulance and evacuated me to the Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital just in time to save my leg and life,” he added.
