The Nakuru County government has dissolved the Naivasha Level 4 hospital board due to poor governance and a failure to oversee the facility’s management.
Following a public outcry over the provision of services in the debt-ridden hospital, the board was fired.
The dissolution came just hours after a protest outside the hospital against the death of a woman who died from excessive bleeding hours after giving birth.
On Tuesday, angry residents blocked the road leading to the facility to protest the death of Rebecca Wangari, 23, who had been admitted for three days.
While issuing the directive, County Secretary Dr. Samuel Mwaura stated that this was part of the hospital’s restructuring, which serves over 1,000 people every day.
He admitted that the hospital was facing a slew of issues, including a staff and medical shortage, which had hampered service delivery.
He stated that the county was eager to address it by hiring more personnel and providing the necessary drugs and equipment.
The County Secretary also stated that a team had been formed to investigate alleged cases of maternal deaths, with the promise of taking appropriate action.
According to him, the hospital owed suppliers Sh250 million, making it impossible to provide the necessary services.
Mwaura also stated that the failure to promote medical personnel since 2015 had harmed staff morale and that this would be addressed within the next month.
Concerning the drug shortage, he stated that the count had initially purchased drugs worth Sh48 million and that another batch worth Sh100 million was on its way to address the current shortage in public hospitals.
Viwandani MCA Mwangi Muraya welcomed the decision to oust the board, noting that it was part of the measures put in place to improve service delivery at the public hospital.
