Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Monday made an impromptu visit to Pumwani Hospital exposing ills behind infant deaths at the facility.
The governor, in a live stream of the visit, demanded answers from the hospital's management questioning the laxity among staff at the maternity wing. He accused the medical staff at Pumwani of neglecting mothers during labour.
Sonko put one Dr Kamau, a gynaecologist contracted by the hospital, on the spot for absconding duty.
Dr Kamau was on Monday expected on duty at 10:00 am but was absent at the time the governor visited his office.
Appearing irked by the absentee consultant, Sonko opted to call him directly but could not reach him. Instead, the medic had diverted all his calls to a telephone attendant who referred the governor to another consultant named Dr Lang'at.
The governor posed as a Salim claiming to have brought his wife to Pumwani to seek emergency medical attention for his wife.
He was taken in rounds and gave up on the call turning more heat on the staff at the hospital.
He went on to expose a video of a staff at the Pumwani maternity wing showing him carrying cartons believed to contain bodies of infants for disposal.
The management could neither deny nor confirm the authenticity of the video but were heard stating that the man in the video was indeed one of their staff.
"I have received very sensitive information from a mother who has lost her baby in this hospital. This (plays clip on his phone) is one of your staff just carrying bodies in cartons yet there is no consultant to help the mothers here," quarreled governor Sonko.
He warned that he may consider instituting a legal suit against the staff at the facility for the negligence that put the lives of expectant mothers and that of their unborn babies at risk.
"I am looking for the consultant on duty. The conditions the mothers are being subjected to here are not acceptable. Babies are dying yet the Dr Kamau you are telling me is not around to attend to the mothers," lamented the Governor.
Sonko also took issue with the hospital after realising they were charging mothers for ultra-sound services at the maternity wing.
A mother at the ward told the governor that she had used her money to pay for the service through Mpesa. She was later issued with receipts documenting the transaction.
The City Hall team took copies of the receipts which he assured shall be shared with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The hospital management sought to clear their name shifting the blame to NHIF.
The administrator informed the governor that delays in disbursements from NHIF were to blame and the situation had forced them to charge the mothers to avoid grounding of services for lack of funds.
