The Informer Media Group re-traces the journey of Jayesh Saini, a suave entrepreneur with vast interests cutting across the healthcare industry and running multiple healthcare facilities.
He is the chairman of the Bliss Healthcare, founder and chairman of Lifecare Hospitals and Group, Nairobi West Hospital, Clinix Healthcare Limited and Pharma Investment Holdings, an offshore company.
Besides having inscribed an indelible mark within the heath industry and contributing to revolutionary healthcare technologies, Jayesh operations in the country have also overtime been marred by praise and controversies in equal measure.
He was first thrust to the limelight in 2012 when the National Assembly Parliamentary Health Committee blew off the lid into the Sh4.2billion civil servants medical cover scheme by the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) infamously known as the Clinix scandal.
The then parliamentary Health Committee chaired by Dr. Robert Monda termed the offshore ownership of Clinix Healthcare Limited as an “Angloleasing-styled corruption scheme” even as it emerged that NHIF paid Sh91.3 million to outlets that did not existent at the time the facility was awarded a contract under the NHIF civil servants medical scheme.
Monda said that the real face behind the healthcare enterprise was one Jayesh Saini, associated with Nairobi West Hospital.
Specifically, the committee was investigating allegations of irregularities in identification of service providers under the capitation scheme, raising questions on concerns on registration and licensing of facilities, medical staff, and generally the capacity by the health providers to offer healthcare services.
During the then long running probe, records tabled before the House committee revealed that, at the time, Clinix had 71 clinics countrywide, 49 of which were opened after the healthcare firm had signed a contract with NHIF to provide outpatient services under the civil servants’ scheme. Some 28 new outlets were established between April and May 2, 2012.
Documents presented before the committee by the now folded hospital chain showed that Clinix Healthcare was owned 99 per cent by Antony Chako through Pharma Investment which is incorporated in the British Virgin Island, described by the team as “one of the world’s most notorious financial secrecy jurisdictions and tax havens”.
The remaining one per cent is held by Jiwan Dabral through Beneficial Ltd which is registered in Kenya.
Further, the committee concluded that the hospital chain lacks the human resource and technical capacity to provide healthcare services to the 56,747 principal members who chose the hospital chain as their preferred medical services provider under the state funded scheme for all public servants after a preliminary site visit to its Sameer and Daystar Athi River clinics.
“We know that Mr Jayesh Saini, of Clinix Healthcare and Nairobi West Hospital is the brainchild behind this new fraud being done under Clinix,” Monda, the then Health committee chairman observed.
“Information we have from the registrar of the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board indicates you have seven doctors registered by the statutory body,” he added.
A list of funds disbursed to health facilities for the period between January and March under the capitation scheme shows Clinix Healthcare Eldoret ‘B’ as having received Sh4,075,830 yet the facility was licensed to begin operations on March 16. “Allocations were given to ghost clinics and this constitutes fraud.” Monda added.
Then Clinix CEO Zac Madana told members of the Health Committee that the firm received Sh202,161,137.50 from NHIF on March 13 as capitation for January to March, the first quarter.
“It costs an estimated Sh10 million to set up a clinic. It is not true that we are funding our expansion from the NHIF earnings.” Madana said while testifying before the probe team.
At the time, Madana told MPs the firm had invested more than Sh700 million in its 71 facilities countrywide and were awaiting clearance from the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board to open 28 more branches.
“We have signed contracts with third party providers to offer healthcare services to our clients on our behalf in areas where we do not have operations,” said the Clinix CEO.
The committee resolved that the scheme was meant to cover up the real owners of the major shareholding company in Clinix.
The scandal saw controversies on NHIF leadership effected by the then Medical Services minister Anyang’ Nyong’o who is the current Kisumu county governor.
Clinix Healthcare Ltd was also a listed approved health service provider under the Parliamentary Service Commission Medical Scheme.
Last year, NHIF CEO Peter Kamunyo said the fund loses Sh10 billion every year through fraudulent claims and out of the out of the Sh61 billion collected from formal, informal sector and sponsored members in the 2020-2021 financial year, more than 91 per cent was paid out to claims from the hospitals across the country amounting to Sh54 billion.
According to recordings, NHIF has 7,666 healthcare providers empaneled by NHIF including 5,833 government facilities which make 75 per cent of the providers, 1,619 private hospitals representing 21 per cent healthcare providers, and 314 faith-based facilities (four per cent).
Also, NHIF operates 156 service points across the country comprising of 70 branch offices, 33 satellite offices and service desks and counters in all 53 Huduma Centres. Currently, NHIF covers more than 23 million Kenyans, with 10.1 million being principal contributors and the rest are dependents including spouses and children.
In 2017, former NHIF boss Richard Kerich was acquitted by a Nairobi court alongside two former directors who had been charged with abuse of office and defrauding NHIF Sh96 million.
In her ruling, the then Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Martha Mutuku ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the case against the three beyond reasonable doubt.
“There’s no evidence provided in court to show that NHIF lost money in the said contract between NHIF and Clinix,” said Mutuku.
In her judgment, the court noted that the prosecution did not tender evidence to show that the accused persons abused their offices while signing the said tender documents to Clinix Healthcare.
The court ruled that the accused had no role in awarding the tender.
In October last year, Nairobi West Hospital, one of the budding medical facilities in the city launched the first Bone Marrow Transplant in the country to provide a broad range of integrated and patient-centric services for the management of all kinds of blood disorders in both adults and children including cancers of the blood dubbed the ‘Bone Marrow Transplant Unit’.
Jayesh is linked to the ownership of both Bliss Healthcare and the Nairobi West Hospital.
Bliss Healthcare serves clients from all segments including Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC), National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), insurance companies and walk-in clients.
