Senators have exposed the poor state of county hospitals in what could be affecting the quality of services
delivered in the facilities.
In a report by the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee, the lawmakers revealed that the
facilities lack essential resources, including supplies and
equipment.
The facilities are acutely understaffed and dogged with
the shortage of bed capacity.
“Healthcare workers frequently work in facilities that
lack essential resources necessary for delivering quality
care,” the report states.
The report on the consideration of the Auditor General’s
report for Levels 4 and 5 hospitals for the period ending
June 30, 2024, was tabled in the Senate last Thursday.
CPISFC chairman Godfrey Osotsi (Vihiga) tabled the
report.
“This shortage can be demoralising for workers and
limits the overall effectiveness of service delivery to patients in such hospitals,” the report says.
The facilities are dogged with frequent stockouts, delayed supplies and expired drugs.
“The quality of drugs supplied has also been questioned,
with reports of expired or substandard drugs being delivered,” the report states.
The panel wants the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority
to install an automated Inventory Management System
that can help monitor drug stocks at every point in the
supply chain.
“By tracking supplies in real time, Kemsa can
reorder drugs before stocks run low, reducing stockouts
and ensuring continuous availability of essential drugs,”
the report says.
The hospitals, report states, lack a proper billing system;
this results in revenue losses and inefficiencies.
“Hospitals should implement an Integrated Hospital
Management Information System with integrated billing
capabilities that allows for seamless patient registration,
billing and discharge processes,” it says.
In Lamu, for instance, the committee wants EACC
to investigate revenue collection at the Lamu Referral
Hospital over suspicion of possible loss of money.
“The committee recommends that EACC conducts
investigations on the revenue collections in Lamu County
Referral Level 4 Hospital to ascertain if there was loss of
any funds,” the report states.
The facility is also grossly understaffed, a scenario that
could be compromising the quality of services.
The facility has 12 medical officers against the required
16, which represents a deficit of four medical officers or
25 per cent.
Further, the hospital had no anaesthesiologists against
the recommended two. It also had two general surgeons
as per the Kenya Quality Model for health and one gynaecologist against the recommended two.
“The committee observes that the hospital’s staff complement did not meet the requirements of the Kenya Quality Model for Health,” the report says.
In addition, the hospital has a bed capacity of 100
against the recommended 150.
At the Nyamira County Referral Hospital, there are 12
medical officers against the required 50, 142 nurses against
the required 250, one gynaecologist against the required
three and one radiologist against the required four.
