Patients at the Bungoma Referral Hospital have been forced to endure cold nights at the hospital's floor as several others share beds putting them at risk of contracting Covid-19.
Some of the patients at the hospitals are being held for non-payment of bills, increasing the number of interactions at the facility despite the government's directive for social distancing in public places.
The hospital's medical superintendent Dr David Wanikina blames the congestion on an influx of patients from neighbouring counties.
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''On an average day, we admit almost 60 patients and we have a 232-bed capacity which patients with different illnesses use and now we are having almost 400 patients with some coming in from the neighbouring counties to seek medication.''
Bungoma county has on several occasions been on the spotlight for embezzlement of funds, with Governor Wycliffe Wangamati recently accused of misusing Covid-19 funds after it was revealed that the county bought 600, 20-litre jerricans at a cost of Ksh10,000 each.
The governor denied the allegation accusing his political opponents of using the Covid-19 pandemic to settle scores.
A spot check by Citizen TV on Tuesday, April 28, highlighted the enduring struggles Kenyans have to through while seeking treatment in government hospitals.
Homa Bay County residents have on several occasions complained about the state of the Homa Bay County Referral Hospital, with patients forced to buy drugs and medical equipment from their own pockets.
Several damning leaks activist Newton Kapiyo shed light on apparent embezzling of funds at the facility in the county with highest HIV prevalence in the country.
The activist claims that he faced several threats while doing his work, and most of his sources bore the brunt of his leaks as some of them were allegedly transferred with others fired.
''Previously, you could find patients catering for themselves buying their own drugs and medication. But I must also acknowledge that the work we did helped the situation as the hospital administration was changed and things are much better than before," Kapiyo says.
