Pumwani Maternity Hospital needs more doctors and consultants so its two operating theatres can operate on a 24-hour basis.
Hospital's administrator Geoffrey Mosiria yesterday said only one theatre currently operates 24-7 because of a staff shortage.
The two theatres are supposed to handle mothers undergoing C-sections and those that have already undergone that surgery.
The staff shortage means the facility only can attend to those undergoing C-sections.
Mosiria said they urgently need more doctors.
“On average, we do 80 to 120 deliveries daily; of those, 15 to 25 are C-sections. The number of Cesarean sections is increasing,” Mosiria said.
He said doctors and nurses are overworked, doing more than they should handle to cope with the shortage.
One C-section takes about an hour, meaning if the hospital operates to capacity, it can only perform 24 a day.
Mosiria said consultants are supposed to run the second theatre because the first one is already full.
“Without the second theatre running 24 hours, there is a chance of causing a heavy workload on Cesarean sections in the labour ward, hence, a backlog of mothers in labour,” he said.
Pumwani has a bed capacity of 415; 265 for adults and 150 bed cots. It has five gynaecologists, 160 nurses, 12 medical officers and three clinical officers. The hospital also has six paediatricians, five obstetricians and two anaesthesiologists.
In November last year, the hospital acquired an eight-adult and 50 infant capacity cold room.
Two extra delivery wards with a capacity of at least 100 beds each were set up to ease congestion.
Acting Health executive Charles Kerich said City Hall will do everything possible to ensure quality services despite the staff shortage.
Last year, the Nairobi City County Public Service Board called for applications for nurses. “We’re doing an audit to determine the gaps. The board lacks a quorum, but the process will be completed in April once we have a full board,” Kerich said.
Shortage of medical staff is a major issue in the health sector.
In the last two years, the docket has received the lion’s share of the budget, indicating the county is keen on a turn-around. This year, it got Sh6.2 billion, about 23 per cent of the budget. Sh6.3 billion was allocated in the 2017-18 financial year.
