Poor state of health sector in Rift Valley region raises concern

The state of health in some Rift Valley counties is wanting, despite the county governments allocating millions of shillings to the sector annually.

Health experts are warning that the country may not attain the Millennium Development Goal of universal and accessible health for all.

South Rift Kenya Medical Practitioners Board Secretary General Davji Atellah said the health sector had been poorly managed since devolution.

Dr Atellah said hospitals lack adequate equipment and are under-staffed under devolution.

A report by Baringo County assembly's joint committee released last year paints a grim picture of the sector in most of the counties in the region.

According to the report, Kabarnet County Hospital is poorly equipped, making patients to be referred to the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital in Nakuru for services.

The report compiled by an eleven-member committee chaired by Joseph Makilap, noted that basic yet critical equipment are unavailable in the hospital.

Surgical wards at the county referral hospital, it said, are poorly equipped and are not sterilised, leading to infection of patients during operations.

The theatre, according to the committee, has very old and in some cases obsolete equipment. These includes the artery forceps, which are unable to constrict bleeding during operations.

The committee said equipment such as chest tubes, which are meant for one-off use, are sterilised and reused on other patients, exposing them to infections.

"It is shocking that surgical operations conducted at the hospital have been turning negative due to a disinfectant that results in formation of wounds with pus, leading to repeat operations," reads the report.

Further, the report states that despite the hospital being a level-five facility, there are no specialist doctors such as orthopaedic surgeons; surgical implants, magnetic resonance imaging machines and that the sterility of the theatre is not conducive for operations.

Surprisingly, a pharmacy at the hospital is manned by a cashier and cleaners who do not have professional knowledge on how to handle drugs.

The hospital, according to the report, only has one surgeon who is overwhelmed.

"Kabarnet County Hospital requires extra specialists in some areas such as orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, radiologists and psychiatrists," reads the report.

County Acting Chief Officer of Health Richard Koech yesterday said there have been improvements since the report was released.

"So much has changed since then and I can assure you we have done all we can to rectify the situation," said Koech.

In Nakuru, management of health services has come under scrutiny after the outbreak of influenza virus, which has claimed the lives of 39 children.

Experts in health matters have questioned the leadership of Mungai Kabii, the County Executive Committee (CEC) member and his chief officer Samuel Mwaura in the wake of the outbreak.

Doctors and nurses' unions called on Governor Kinuthia Mbugua to hold the two accountable for the deaths, saying they had failed in their responsibilities.

"The two senior officers lack experience and capacity to manage such an important docket and it is time Governor Kinuthia Mbugua takes action and ensures that the Health docket is handled by experienced health experts," said an official of the doctors' union.

According to Atellah, the county has failed in disease surveillance and it is difficult for the department to quickly detect and stop outbreaks.

During a press conference on Monday, Dr Kabii shocked the press as he could neither tell the exact number of people who had died or explain the difference between influenza A and B, the disease that he announced in his preliminary report as the likely cause of the deaths.

In Nandi County, a strike by the health workers is now in its second week. Kapsabet County Referral Hospital remains deserted by the workers, leaving desperate patients unattended to.

Top on the list of the workers grievances include "delayed or denied" promotions. At least 850 health workers including 400 nurses have been on strike, affecting service delivery in 196 hospitals and dispensaries across the county.

Nandi Women Representative Zipporah Kerring, who toured hospitals in the county, narrated the suffering that patients go through.

She said one of her neighbours died on Monday night after a medical emergency went wrong.

"My neighbor died as we made efforts to transfer her to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret for treatment as hospitals in Nandi remained closed owing to the strike," she said.

The health workers are also demanding salary arrears for nurses employed under the economic stimulus plan and confirmed on July 1, 2015.