Nakuru Members of County Assembly (MCAs) on Tuesday, July 18, expressed their shock after learning that the Naivasha Level 4 Hospital was recording between 15 and 25 newborn deaths every month.
Speaking to journalists after visiting the heath facility, members of the Nakuru County Assembly Health Committee led by Naivasha East MCA Stanley Karanja described the facility as a deathtrap not fit to have a maternity wing.
The county legislators revealed they had been informed by the hospital's superintendent that the facility was being crippled by debts running into millions.
Karanja stated that he could not comprehend how the hospital had accrued debts amounting to Ksh300 million in just two years.
“We have learnt that this hospital is losing over 20 newborn babies every month, patients are struggling to get food and there is an acute shortage of staff,” he pointed out the sorry state of the public hospital.
The Naivasha East MCA pointed fingers at previous county administrations noting that an audit was required to establish the extent of the rot at the hospital and to determine if the amount owed was not inflated.
The MCAs were informed that a significant portion of the hospital's equipment, approximately 60 per cent, was in a state of disrepair. Furthermore, they discovered that the hospital was facing a shortage of essential medical supplies, highlighting a critical lack of basic resources.
The hospital's management attributed the high mortality rate to lack of supplies after vendors refused to honour existing agreements until they were paid for past deliveries.
A matter of concern regarding the staffing at the hospital was the realisation that the maternity wing was often staffed by only a single nurse, which raised significant worries.
The committee further learnt that incubators in the maternity wing had broken down months before and the last medical dispatch was made in November 2022.
“We are facing many challenges due to the financial crisis but we are keen to improve services and we hope that this committee will come to our assistance,” the superintendent pleaded to the MCAs.
“We shall engage the governor urgently to help deal with the current situation in this hospital which is worrying,” Hellsgate MCA Virginia Wamaitha assured.
The Health Committee from the county assembly visited the hospital following numerous complaints from Naivasha residents.
