Gilgil Mental Hospital hit by major financial crisis

Gilgil Mental Hospital could grind to a halt due to a major financial crisis.

The superintendent in charge of the facility, Dr Catherine Gitau, said yesterday that the hospital has a debt of over Sh8 million, and that the debt is rising by the day due to the high number of abandoned patients.

Gitau said that since the national government stopped funding the psychiatrist department after Health was devolved, it has been difficult to access funds from the county government.

"Currently we have over 100 patients and half of them have been abandoned by their relatives meaning that they are not paying anything," she said.

The superintendent called on anyone with a patient in the hospital to step forward and support them.

"Some of the patients in this facility were referred from Mathari Hospital in Nairobi years back and they are stranded here after their relatives abandoned them," she said.

She said that majority of those abandoned are elderly and that efforts to trace their relatives have been fruitless.

advanced age

"Some of the patients have already recovered but due to their advanced age, they cannot leave this facility as their relatives have abandoned them," she said.

She also complained that the hospital has an acute shortage of personnel, and this was affecting service delivery.

"We need over 50 doctors and nurses so that they can fully address the rising number of patients around the sub-county," she said.