The Mombasa County Governor, Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, has waived the medical bills of patients in various county hospitals, days after several patients succumbed after an alleged oxygen supply disruption at the Coast General Hospital.
In a statement on his official X account on Sunday, April 6, the governor confirmed that the waiver of the bills, which amounted to Ksh15 million, saw the release of 100 patients who had completed treatment but were unable to pay.
"Under my leadership and direction, yesterday, the County Government of Mombasa waived medical bills amounting to over Ksh15 million, releasing more than 100 patients who had completed treatment but were unable to pay from our various hospitals. Putting people before profit. Restoring dignity, one life at a time," he said.
The decision by the governor comes two days after he called for an immediate probe into the Coast General Hospital, where three patients died after the hospital switched off their oxygen supply during a scheduled maintenance at the hospital's oxygen plant.
According to families of the victims, the hospital failed to provide a backup oxygen supply to the patients during the maintenance exercise, which ultimately led to the demise of the patients.
The families are now seeking justice for their kin and asking for compensation for what happened.
"My dad took almost 20 minutes while he gasped for air, looking for oxygen. The nurses present were just running around but did nothing. We kept asking for the backup cylinders, but there were none—until he died while we watched helplessly," a son of one of the victims said.
'We have been paying a lot of money, and we have been providing everything the doctors asked for immediately. We need justice and compensation," another one said
Responding to the incident, the governors ordered a probe into the incident and stressed that those responsible should be held accountable.
Empathising with the families of the deceased, the governor further ordered a post-mortem to get a full clarification of how the incident unfolded.
''We must launch a proper investigation, and we will ensure that if there are any staff who need to be held responsible, they must be held responsible. There is no two ways to do this," he said.
The hospital has not yet publicly commented on the matter.
