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{
    "id": 920197,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/920197/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 141,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Malalah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13195,
        "legal_name": "Cleophas Wakhungu Malalah",
        "slug": "cleophas-wakhungu-malalah-2"
    },
    "content": "the same pain. If that is happening with such two women on one bed, the result can only be catastrophic. In Malava Level 4 Hospital, mothers coming straight from the delivery rooms are ushered into a packed wing and they have to sleep on the floor with their new born babies. Some of those floors are unwashed and unsterilized, posing a direct health hazard to the mothers and new born babies. It is saddening that this is how we are admitting the next generation into our country. Makunga Rural Health Demonstration Centre, which is on the border of Mumias East and Navakholo, lacks clean linen for the patients and those that are available are worn out. Patients are forced to buy non-pharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals from external pharmacies. Diabetics clinics are conducted in the offices and not in wards and patients have to wait from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. to be attended to. At Matungu Hospital, I noted that the hospital does not have adequate medicine to even treat the prevalent diseases. Moreover, the hospital, as in the case of Malava and Makunga hospitals, is forcing all patients visiting the hospital to buy non-pharmaceuticals from outside suppliers due to non-supply of the same by the County Government. The County Government last procured non-pharmaceuticals for hospitals in October, 2018. I held a meeting with the hospital management together with doctors, nurses, clinical officers and the community health workers and a number of issues were identified. These problems cut across all health facilities in Kakamega County. They include- (1) Money paid by the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the County Government as claims by patients treated is not being released to the hospitals. The money is taken in as general revenue for the county. (2) The County Government does not release money allocated to health facilities in good time. Last year, health facilities received imprest for only eight months instead of the required 12 months. (3) The conditional grant of Kshs427 million disbursed to Kakamega County Level 5 Hospital has been diverted to other uses. Only Kshs67 million has been put to proper use. The rest is used in other county activities. Kakamega County General Hospital had 47 doctors in 2017. In 2019, as I speak right now, we only have 15 doctors, and six are threatening to resign because of job group stagnation even after pursuing their Masters degrees in various areas of specialization. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the community health workers are not consistently paid, while the nurses and doctors have been denied study leave, hence creating a very demoralized workforce. I also gathered that the Kakamega County Executive Committee (CEC) Member in charge of health has a very poor working relationship with the chief officer and other staffers in the docket, making it difficult to resolve this stalemate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, since healthcare is a devolved function and very integral area to our citizens’ wellbeing, I urge the Committee on Health to take interest in the health affairs of Kakamega County and consider paying a visit to the county to delve more into these issues in order to come up with a workable way of improving services rendered to The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}