Civil servants have been advised to take advantage of the new NHIF scheme and visit professional doctors for their annual detailed medical examination to enable proper diagnosis and management of diseases.
Speaking in her office in Thika on Monday, NHIF Benefits Officer Nelly Achieng' pointed out that with the challenges posed by lifestyle diseases to Kenyansm there was need for officers to avail themselves for the mandatory annual checkups to facilitate early detection and management.
She urged the civil servants to be patient with the new scheme as it was rolled out, adding that the scheme was experiencing teething problems that were being dealt with as they emerged and there was no cause for alarm.
She explained that the current hue and cry about inadequate structures at public hospitals was also being addressed gradually, and called on the civil servants to positively embrace the scheme, which was coined to their advantage.
Earlier, the department heads, led by the area District Commissioner Wilson Njenga had complained bitterly about the scheme, terming it as a sham hurriedly invented without proper consultations.
The departmental heads lamented that the scheme was unfriendly, as it was only catering for a spouse and three children, yet most of them had more than 3 children.
They suggested that the government adopt or borrow from the teacher's medical scheme, which allowed treatment for two spouses and at least 5 children.
The civil servants complained that some services such as dental and optical were not available in the public hospitals, and it was forcing them to travel far in search of referral centers an exercise that was becoming very expensive.
The scheme was launched to cover the over 280,000 civil servant spread out all over the county.