Shortage of drugs and dysfunctional equipment; what troubles Naivasha sub-county hospital

Once dubbed as the most effective and cleanest health facility in Nakuru County, Naivasha sub-county hospital is a shadow of its former self.

Stakeholders claim acute shortage of medical supplies, broken machines and demoralized staff is the order of the day for the facility that serves hundreds of patients from even the neighbouring counties.

Patients registered under the controversial Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) have not been spared either as they struggle to settle their bills.

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Last week, one of the main machines at the dialysis center broke down forcing patients to seek services from other facilities.

The machine has since been repaired.

At the maternity wing, over 50 per cent of the incubators are no longer operational, the ultrasound machine broke down and mothers have been forced to share beds.

For a worker in the facility, the hospital is a death trap to hundreds of patients seeking service as the shortage of basic drugs and equipment continues to bite deeper.

The worker who declined to be named said that the shortage of medical supplies has been going on for the last one year, adversely affecting the services.

As a result, the facility was forced to ‘borrow’ from other hospitals with patients at times forced to procure their own drugs and medical supplies like gloves and cotton to get treatment.

“We are told that this is a countrywide problem but in Naivasha, things are getting worse as machines and cars break down adversely affecting our services,” said the worker.

A flower farm worker Jacinta Nafula termed the new medical scheme as the biggest scam as patients were being forced to pay cash at the Level IV hospital.

“Those seeking services at the outpatient wing have to pay in cash and even those admitted in the wards have to buy their own drugs due to the current shortage,” she said.

Nafula wondered why the government decided to do away with NHIF for SHIF noting that families were undergoing untold suffering.

Contacted on the phone, the County Executive Committee member for Health Roselyne Mungai attributed the shortage of medical supplies to recent festive holidays.

She was however quick to add that this had been partially resolved after the county procured more supplies and sent them to respective health facilities.

“The biggest challenge we have is the equipment repairs due to funding constraints but the dialysis machine is up and running as we seek solutions to the equipment,” she said.