Sh400m debt affects health care services in Nairobi County
Nairobi Metropolitan Services boss Major General Mohammed Badi.
The supply of pharmaceutical products to the Nairobi City-County’s major hospitals has been derailed by a Sh403 million debt to the national drugs supplier.
While appearing before a committee of the Senate, Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) boss Mohamed Badi said the supply of pharmaceutical products to the county has been derailed because of a Sh403 million debt owed to the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa).
He explained that out of the figure, Sh186 million was what the county government owed the agency until February 2020, when the health services were taken over by the NMS.
A further Sh195 million was Kemsa pending bills from the Nairobi County Government for medical items invoiced in March last year, but which were delivered to NMS.
Under his watch NMS has incurred a debt of Sh21.7 million as at last August, affecting hospitals Mama Lucy Kibaki, Pumwani Maternity, Matuini and Dandora II Health Centre.
“The Nairobi County Government has an impending Kemsa debt of Sh403.1 million, which has resulted in lack of resupply of medical commodities,” Major General Badi said when he appeared before the committee yesterday.
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja put the NMS boss to task when he asked him to explain what it is doing to ensure there is consistent supply of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical supplies at the hospital, the reason of the shortage of key health care staff and the action being taken to remedy the situation.
Mr Badi revealed that both the county government and NMS are in the process of paying the debt to Kemsa and revealed that NMS had appointed various committees which have allowed the payment plan.
“The payment process is expected to be done before the end of October 2021, and once paid, this bottleneck will be resolved,” he told the committee chaired by Trans Nzoia Senator Michael Mbito.
Maj Gen Badi and Mr Sakaja also differed over the number of critical care nurses in health facilities, as the lawmaker claimed that the capital lacks a sufficient number to deal with the huge demand for their services in the capital.
The trouble between the two started when the lawmaker dismissed an answer Maj Gen Badi had submitted to the Senate committee on Health detailing the status of facilities and patient care at the Mbagathi Referral Hospital.
Mbagathi Hospital has a total of 244 nurses of which seven ICU nurses; eight anaesthetists; 33 medical officers; and 29 consultants.
Mama Lucy Kibaki has 261 nurses, of which 13 are ICU nurse; 12 anaesthetists, 42 medical officers and 43 consultants.
However, the senator rejected the figures, telling the committee that the answer was unsatisfactory as it did not provide the specific details on the nurses.
In the document he submitted, Mr Badi had lumped together anaesthetists and anaesthesiologists, which the lawmaker used to doubt the accuracy of the information.
While both have the same skill, there is a major difference between these two professions, anaesthesiologist are medical doctors that administer anaesthesia, while nurse anaesthetists are registered nurses who may assist or collaborate with doctors in administering anaesthesia, or may work entirely independently as they administer anaesthesia.
According to the senator, as of last September, Mbagathi had only one ICU nurse, one anaesthetist, and with three anaesthesiologists serving all the health facilities in Nairobi. He challenged Mr Badi to explain whether additional nurses had been recruited in the succeeding period after he filed the question in the House.
He demanded that NMS submits to the House a list of the alleged nurses as proof of the numbers he detailed in his submission.
Mr Badi said the number of ICU nurses he had submitted was accurate as they had been recruited through the Public Service Commission (PSC) in anticipation of the additional health facilities that have been built, mainly in Nairobi’s informal settlements.
“We have a shortage of anaesthesiologists,” Mr Badi told the committee, even as he promised to submit the list of all critical caregivers complete with their service numbers.
He told the committee that NMS does not recruit staff directly, but does so through the PSC.
“The shortage of anaesthesiologists is a national issue. It is not specific to NMS but we have made a special request to the PSC and the only thing we can do is to request the commission to fast track the process.”
