Doctor shortage hits Coast hospitals

Public hospitals in the North Coast are grappling with an acute shortage of doctors and nurses following mass resignations.

Tana River and Lamu District hospitals are the worst hit as doctors and nurses opt to resign once they are posted to the districts considered as hardship areas, according to Coast Provincial Director of Medical Services Dr Maurice Siminyu.

“Once I post or transfer doctors to Faza, Lamu, Hola or Mpeketoni, most of them reject them and instead opt to resign. They have actually resigned and looked for greener pastures elsewhere,” he said.

He made the remarks when he met Kenyan and Turkish members of the Doctors Worldwide organisation at Royal Court Hotel in Mombasa on Friday evening at the close of a one week medical camp.

Dr Siminyu said Moi Hospital in Voi, Malindi District Hospital and Kilifi District Hospital are the other affected health facilities.

He said the scenario had exposed thousands of patients to suffering since about 90 per cent of Kenyans depend on public health facilities for medical services.

“Only about 10 per cent of Kenyans go to private hospitals. So, when there is a problem in the public health sector, 90 per cent of Kenyans suffer,” he said.

More incentives

The medical boss urged the government to introduce more incentives to encourage doctors to those areas perceived to be hardship places because “these areas are habitable because other Kenyans are living there comfortably”.

He suggested the introduction of hardship allowance and first priority for scholarships for post-graduate training be given to those posted there, among other packages.

At the same time, he castigated medics who placed financial gains before serving the people saying as professionals, they ought to be passionate and sometimes save lives even when there was no financial gain. 

He said negotiations were ongoing to establish a dental unit in Lamu in collaboration with Doctors Worldwide, an organisation that has pumped a lot of money in holding free medical camps at Mewa and Seyd Fatma hospitals in Mombasa and Lamu Hospital.

Officials of Doctors Worldwide, Prof Sackin Dindor and Dr Abubakar Mohamed Badawy, said 70 patients were attended for dental problems and 15 others were treated of heart problems.

Three children will be taken to Istanbul in Turkey for further treatment.