A visit by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to Mama Lucy Kibaki hospital after Moureen Anyango, a mother who delivered twins through cesarean section died, has revealed the sorry state of the medical facility.
Sakaja, who made an impromptu visit to the hospital on Sunday, September 11, revealed that the hospital's maternity unit was overcrowded with the doctor-patient ratio higher than that recommended worldwide.
This increased the average waiting time for patients to receive the medical attention as the staff was overwhelmed, which may have caused the death of the patient.
Furthermore, expectant and new mothers were forced to share beds, which may pose risks to those who went under the knife.
"The situation is not good! Mothers should not be sharing beds, patients not being attended to on time, drugs not being available," Sakaja sympathized.
The county boss apologized to the patients in the facility on behalf of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and the previous regimes. He vowed to improve the conditions of the hospital.
"I apologize on behalf of the previous administration as well as the NMS for the state of things. We will take better care of you. I will not rest until we achieve this," the governor assured.
Sakaja also condoled with the late Moureen's husband, Robert Omondi, over his loss. He stated that nobody should lose their loved ones because of poor health service in the county.
According to Omondi, his wife died after post delivery bleeding. He told the media that he attempted to call doctors to help his wife who had lost a lot of blood but had to wait four hours for the first sign of help.
"At 1.45p.m, after a ruckus from the other patients, two nurses came and rushed her back to the theatre," the distraught husband recounted.
However, despite undergoing a blood transfusion, Moureen's condition worsened and the staff at Mama Lucy recommended that she get specialised attention.
Since they were under the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover, his choice of facilities were limited and most public facilities had no space. They finally found an opening at the Kiambu Level Five Hospital.
His wife was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where she passed away while receiving treatment.
