Upgrade your Service Delivery, Kitui Referral Hospital told

By JOSPHINE MWENDE 

The concerns were raised during a multi-agency stakeholder engagement held in Kitui town on August 21, bringing together representatives of civil society organisations, the Ministry of Health, youth and women networks and other duty bearers.

Participants said congestion was among the most pressing challenges, particularly in the maternity wards, where some mothers were reportedly forced to share beds with their newborns, exposing both mothers and babies to unhealthy conditions.

They also raised concerns over long queues and congestion at the OutPatient Department (OPD), saying patients were spending excessive amounts of time seeking services. “There is something to be done. That congestion is real. From the wards to where people are registering cards, people are taking a lot of time,” a resident said.

Stakeholders further questioned delays associated with the SHA system, saying some patients had reportedly been held at the hospital after discharge because their claims could not be processed. “Patients have been discharged but instead of going home to rest, the hospital is holding them because SHA is not working. Others are being referred to other hospitals where SHA is working,” another stakeholder said.

The meeting also raised concerns over alleged negative attitudes among some healthcare workers. Participants attributed the situation partly to staff shortages, which they said had increased workloads and affected the quality of patient care.

Concerns over sanitation were also highlighted, with participants describing parts of the hospital as unhygienic and unsuitable for patients recovering from illness.

Stakeholders further called for an increase in the number of ambulances in the county, saying shortages had contributed to delays in accessing emergency care. One resident claimed families were sometimes forced to pay up to KSh15,000 for private ambulance services to transport patients to Nairobi.

The availability of medicines and medical supplies was another major concern, with participants alleging that some patients were being sent to private chemists to purchase drugs and other commodities.

County health officials attributed some of the challenges to the high number of patients seeking services at the referral hospital, noting that the facility receives more than 3,000 outpatient visits daily.

On medicine shortages, an official said the county’s health budget was often insufficient to meet the hospital’s needs, while reliance on the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) was sometimes affected by shortages of essential commodities.

Regarding SHA, officials said low registration among residents had delayed the flow of funds to the county health system. They urged residents to register with SHA to facilitate funding and improve healthcare services.

The stakeholders called on the county government and hospital management to implement urgent measures to improve service delivery and restore public confidence in the facility.