Misery as health crisis worsens

The strike by health workers continued to bite in public hospitals across the country on Saturday.

At the Coast Provincial General Hospital, administrators were battling reports that patients had died in the wake of the strike.

Coast provincial director of medical services Maurice Simiyu dismissed the report that 17 people had died as exaggeration. saying the hospital has never recorded such a number of deaths within such a short time. (READ: Nurses’ boycott paralyses Kenyan hospitals)

“That figure is exaggerated,” Dr Simiyu said adding that many departments, including emergency, casualty, theatre and maternity at the provincial hospital were operational.

Dr Simiyu’s denial came in the wake of claims by some workers that among the dead were 10 children.

Those interviewed by the Sunday Nation claimed that the paediatric ward 10 and an adjacent ward referred to as POW had recorded the highest deaths since Thursday.

“Seven were adults, among them two women who died hours after they were brought in. There were no medical workers to attend to them,” said a source at the hospital.

Sources said two road accident victims taken to the casualty ward died due to excessive bleeding as there were no nurses to handle them immediately.

“There was only one doctor on duty attending to some casualty and the two victims were kept long at the emergency. I saw their bodies being wheeled to the mortuary,” said a source.

At the mortuary, there was a long queue of people waiting to collect bodies of their loved ones for burial. Some people attributed the deaths to the strike.

“We are here to collect the body of my cousin who died on Friday night,” Mr Thomas Makanga said.

The crisis has forced the provincial hospital management to discharge scores of patients with relatives being advised to seek help in private clinics.

With the Nyeri provincial general hospital deserted by staff, Consolata Mission Hospital Mathari, PCEA Tumutumu Mission Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Mweiga recorded higher-than-normal admissions.

In Kangundo on Friday, operations at the district hospital were paralysed. Nurses and subordinate staff had gathered at the main entrance to the hospital vowing not to work until their demands were met.

The hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Joseph Thigiti, said the management was thinking of closing the hospital.