Hospital suspends services due to acute water crisis

By LINAH BENYAWA

Operations at the Coast Provincial General Hospital have greatly been affected by a major water crisis that has hit Mombasa town and its environs.

Coast Provincial Director of Medical Services Morris Siminyu said they were forced to deal with emergencies only due to the water crisis.

"Right now we are only dealing with emergency cases like pregnancies and urgent operations because of the water crisis," said Dr Siminyu. He explained that they had postponed general cases until the situation returns to normal.

"We have postponed operations for about a week. General cases that can wait we have advised them to return when the water issue is solved," he added.

He, however, said the institution had been buying water from the local water vendors since the crisis started three weeks ago.

Emergency wards

Siminyu also said they had received support from the Kenya Navy, which has been supplying them with water. He said the water distributed by the military staff was being used in crucial departments like the maternity and emergency wards.

"We have been using the water from the vendors in the kitchen, for laundry, in the maternity and emergency wards and other crucial units of the hospital," he said.

Water supply in Mombasa had dropped by an average of 6,000 cubic metres following power interruptions at Baricho water works.

Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company Managing Director Moses Kinya said the situation could last about two to three weeks, but they were trying to address the problem.