No food supply as Shalom hospital sealed-off

There is animosity at Shalom Community Hospital, Athi River branch following the sealing-off of the facility by the Machakos County Government.

The hospital’s administrator Thomas Ndolo said the patients had got no food supply since no essential services providers were allowed inside the facility.

Ndolo expressed the hospital management’s worry on conditions of the over 150 patients admitted at the facility and around 35 health service providers who were locked inside the hospital after it was sealed off.

He said they were worried that the patients’ health conditions could worsen if they were neither fed nor attended for due to lack of food supply.

The few health service providers at the facility were fatigued since they had worked for more hours.

The administration’s plea to the county government to allow food supply and health workers in the facility to relieve those who had worked since Friday evening were futile even after the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council CEO Daniel Yumbya directed so.

The hospital was sealed off by Machakos government after four Covid-19 related deaths were reported at the facility between June 11 and 22nd, 2020.

“The hospital was closed at 9.30 pm on Friday at a time majority of the responsible staff had left the facility. A few staff were inside, they had just reported for their night shift,” Ndolo told the press at the hospital on Saturday.

Ndolo said only two cooks, one clinician and two doctors were at the hospital when it was sealed-off to handle 150 patients.

“We have been denied access to relieve our colleagues, we can’t deliver food to the staffers to prepare for the patients either,” he said.

He added, “We need intervention since our patients have been neglected. Those behind the situation should be considerate not to put health of the patients to more danger.”

Inspectorate officers from Machakos County government turned down Yumbya’s directive to let in health workers who had been denied access to relieve those on duty claiming that they were yet to receive orders on the same from their ‘bosses’.

Yumbya said the health workers should be allowed in to ensure that the patients currently receiving treatment at the facility were not affected in any way.

He said the hospital had been sealed-off to allow the testing of Covid-19 for those in the facility.

Bernard Kirui asked Governor Alfred Mutua to address them on the facility's stalemate way forward.

“We have had difficulties going to check on our patients, the governor should speak on the hospital’s operations,” Kirui said.

He said they were out of touch with their relative who had been admitted at the facility after he was involved in an accident.

The hospital’s management, those with patients at the facility and patients ran out patience after Mutua failed to turn up at the facility as anticipated. Machakos CECM Health and Emergency Services Ancent Kituku visited the facility for approximately 30 minutes and drove off on Saturday evening. He never issued any statement.

The health workers, management and those with patients at the facility were forced to return to their homes.