Committee report reveals crisis at city hospital

A report by the Nairobi County Health Services Committee has revealed lack of adequate facilities and under-staffing at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.

The report tabled before the County Assembly on Wednesday also cites congestion and inefficient management policies and procedures.

It was prepared following an inspection visit to the facility on November 4, last year by the committee, led by its chairman Peter Warutere.

The report shows the facility has a bed capacity of 112, which is not enough for a Level Four hospital.

In the maternity section, up to three mothers who had delivered were forced to share a bed and were discharged after only eight hours as opposed to the recommended 24 hours. There were only 55 beds in the antenatal, gynaecological and labour wards.

Moreover, the facility meant to serve about 1 million residents from Nairobi’s Eastlands was found to have a mortuary only able to sore eight bodies at a time.

Warutere, however, said plans were underway to put up a cooler that could accommodate 50 bodies.

“The committee was shocked to find at the rear of the maternity, just separated by a few metres, a room meant to be a classroom had been turned into a male ward. It was more disturbing to learn that this was the only male ward at the hospital. It had a bed capacity of nine,” read the report.

Vice-chairperson of the committee June Ndegwa was concerned that there were only three theatres with inadequate staffing.

She said in the event of a blackout, the theatres relied on power from an unreliable generator.

The Accident and Emergency Unit had a severe shortage of staff and it also lacked a motorised machine to attend to patients. “More surprising is that there was no general ward for women and no functional ambulance. The staff were demoralised due to claims of rampant harassment by top management,” said Warutere