Chuka County Referral Hospital faces closure

Chuka County Referral Hospital in Tharaka Nithi. PHOTO | ALEX NJERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The medical facility has not received any funding from the county government of Tharaka Nithi for the past nine months and this has caused suffering among patients.

  • Three weeks ago, the water supply was disconnected due to an unpaid debt of Sh2.7 million, creating a great risk of disease outbreak at the hospital.

Chuka County Referral Hospital is facing closure due to a lack of funds, which led to disconnection of water supply and caused food stores to become empty.

The medical facility has not received any funding from the county government of Tharaka Nithi for the past nine months and this has caused suffering among patients.

Three weeks ago, the water supply was disconnected due to an unpaid debt of Sh2.7 million, creating a great risk of disease outbreak at the hospital.

The medical facility is facing a shortage of essentials including food for patients, syringes, bandages and fuel for the only one operational ambulance and other vehicles.

A nurses’ strike, which entered its 55thday on Friday, has paralysed the hospital.

Contacted, the County Executive Committee Member for Health, Magdalene Njeru, said she had borrowed money from other departments to pay for water and buy essentials.

She blamed the situation to delays of disbursement of money by the National Treasury and said the national government had not refunded money for the free maternity program.

“I admit there is problem but we are also waiting for funds from national government,” Ms Njeru said.

She blamed the medical facility’s management for failing to buy basics like food and bandages.

 “The hospital has not been operating totally without a coin and I cannot keep visiting every facility to know what is lacking,” she said.

Speaking to the Nation, patients at the hospital said they were being asked to buy almost everything including syringes. 

“I had to go back to Chuka town to buy syringe in a private chemist so that I could get treatment,” pne, Mary Kageni, said.

 A spot check by the Nation established that most of the departments were not offering services either due to lack of essentials or because of the nurses’ strike.

We established that situation was almost the same in other facilities like Magutuni and Tharaka sub-county hospitals.