Kisia orders audit into extent of rot at Pumwani

By MUTINDA MWANZIA

Nairobi City Clerk Philip Kisia has ordered an audit on the financial and human resource management at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital following discontent among staff.

Kisia made the move following claims by staff and suppliers that the hospital’s management was high-handed, leading to low morale and frequent strikes by employees.

Last month, nurses at the hospital went on a go slow, exposing challenges at Kenya’s largest maternity hospital.

On Wednesday, Kisia told The Standard at City Hall that the audit team would investigate the claims and come up with recommendations to revamp the hospital.

Important facility

"Pumwani is an important facility that serves mainly the under privileged due to the subsidised cost of health care. It must be managed properly," said Kisia.

Pumwani is run by the City Council of Nairobi and often waives the Sh3,400 charge for normal delivery and Sh6,000 for delivery through Caesarean section for those who cannot afford.

Kenya Local Government Workers’ Union Nairobi Branch Secretary Festus Ngare welcomed the audit and said working conditions at the hospital remained deplorable and needed to be improved.

Pumwani Hospital currently has 180 nurses who claim they are being overworked. Ngare said the hospital should not have less than 30 doctors and called for an additional 100 nurses to be posted to the hospital.

He said due to the staff shortage, nurses were working for long hours with no one to relieve them after their normal shifts. The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Fridah Govedi said Pumwani was overstretched due to the high number of patients, adding that the hospital delivers an average of 80 to100 babies daily, 20 through Caesarean section.

Investigations revealed the hospital has only 10 doctors, with medics from the council’s other district-level hospitals often being called to help. The hospital also lacks specialised reproductive health delivery equipment such as foetal monitors. Most facilities at the laboratory are old and unreliable.

Yesterday, Govedi said the allowances issue raised by the nurses had been resolved. The nurses have accused the management of withholding their uniform and practising allowances, meagre risk allowance and alleged harassment by the City Director of Public Health Dr Robert Ayisi. But Ayisi said there was a scheme to use the rot to undermine him.