Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has revealed major issues derailing operations at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, faulting Governor Sakaja for failing to intervene and curb an impending crisis.
During his tour of the facility on Saturday, February 3, Sifuna claimed that the management was forced to shut down several wards due to understaffing.
The ODM party Secretary General added that employment contracts for half the facility workers were due to expire by next week.
“For a facility that delivers hundreds of babies a day, we cannot afford the problem to persist even a day,” he stated.
He further called out the Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for failing to deliver a clearance report for one of the hospital facilities, which is crucial to the operations of the hospital.
According to Sifuna, the facility - which was razed by fire in February last year - was declared a crime scene, barring the management from renovating it. A section of the building was used to house pharmaceuticals and other commodities.
“We need that report concluded and the building handed back to the facility for repairs. The people of Nairobi need it,” Sifuna urged.
Fire victims from an explosion that occurred at a gas plant in the Embakasi area on Thursday were forced to buy medications from private chemists as some of the public hospitals lacked basic drugs for treatment.
Nairobi County hospitals have been in the spotlight for the past few months forcing Governor Johnson Sakaja to appoint a task force to review and propose reforms for the health sector.
According to the task force, major issues affecting the health scene in Kenya include the lack of funds, poor sanitation and an unclear referral system.
The governor in September 2023 appointed managers Frederick Otieno Obwanda to Mutuini Hospital and Alexander Irungu Wanjiru to Mbagathi Hospital.
Others include Martin Alfred Wekesa Wafula to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, and Christine Kiteshu to Pumwani Maternity, to streamline workflow in the institutions.
