Medics decry lack of equipment in Voi public hospitals

Nurses in Taita Taveta have blamed lack of resources for the poor healthcare to citizens in public health facilities in the county.

Speaking to the Nation, the county’s Kenya National Union of Nurses noted that services in the health facilities are deteriorating making it difficult to attend to patients.

They cited lack of a CT-Scan equipment, X-Ray services and drugs as some of the challenges facing public hospitals in the county.

They said many patients have been forced to seek specialised scan services in Mombasa.

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The union’s secretary-general Boniface Mrashui said the situation has led to union members being blamed for negligence.

“The blame on poor services is being shifted to us yet we are sacrificing to ensure that patients get the best services,” he said.

He blamed politicians in the county for making statements that are meant to demoralise the nurses.

He cited political interference as some of the challenges facing improvement of delivery of services in the hospitals.

“We want a conducive environment for us to be able to discharge our duties well,. Sometimes we are called names by patients and leaders which makes us lose the spirit to work,” he said.

Mr Mrashui said they were in talks with the county Health department officials to discuss on how to improve service delivery in hospitals across the county.

"I urge the officials to engage us on how we can better our services instead of making derogatory statements in public," he said.

The chairperson of the union Halima Hassan urged the public to erase a negative perception on public hospitals.

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“The negative perception of the public is a challenge because they assume all nurses are arrogant and cannot discharge their duties without being pushed.

“This is a bad trend because we are professionals and we know our duties,” she said.

This comes after Governor Granton Samboja ordered the county executive for Health Dr Frank Mwangemi to streamline services in public health facilities after numerous complaints from the public on poor services.

Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi has been on the receiving end over poor services and negligence.

Dr Mwangemi said the sh40 million CT Scan which has been lying idle at the hospital for three years will soon be operational.

He said the county government had contacted engineers from South Africa to ensure that the equipment starts operations by next month.

“Since we took over the county government we have put a lot of effort into improving health care services in all health facilities,” he said.

Dr Mwangemi said the county had also procured drugs for restocking public hospitals to end drug shortage in the facilities.