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Citizen Weekly

Monday 9 February 2015

Patient embarrasses powers that be at Kitale Level Four

Drama unfolded at the Kitale Level Four Hospital after a patient started to answer questions from the Trans Nzoia senator Henry Ole Ndiema and his executive in charge of health John Ndombi without knowing that he was annoying certain quarters.
Pamela Abuyeka was summoned by the nurse in charge of the female ward 7 to say why she had told the visitors that cleaners at the ward have been harassing patients who were unable to wake up in time owing to their level of sickness.
The nurse said the patient ought to have informed her and not spill the beans before the senator and the executive in charge of health.  The patient said she was not aware the best protocol was for her to tell her and not senator, executive in charge of health and medical superintendant who are her bosses.
 The nurse later denied harassing the patient but said she had asked her politely why she did not report to nurse’s office on how cleaners were harassing them adding that she is a Christian who does not harass patients.
The governor was accompanied by the medical superintendent of health Jonathan Kiprop among other medical officers who were touring various departments of the hospital to carry out his senate oversight role and asked patients questions on how they were being treated at the health facility.
The patient was asked about problems they are facing in the female ward and she responded to the question without knowing that her answers would irritate the nurse.
After the senator went to the other departments, the patient was summoned in the ward office by the nurse in charge and reprimanded forcing her to run to where the senator was but was unable to reach the senator and his team and instead complained to the press and the senator’s personal assistant.
But the goings-on reached the leaders who were in the boardroom   concerning the patient making medical superintendent to order another nurse to  go to the ward  and get the statement as to why the patient had been summoned after talking to senator.
Ndombi and the medical superintendent condemned the act and said it was a bad picture before visitors and promised to take disciplinary action. Ndiema in his speech asked nurses to serve patients with love and care because they are nurses and not prison warders.
He agreed with the executive in charge of health and hospital management that this financial year, nurses should have an extra office as some patients needed privacy since it was not good for nurses to share one consultation room. Ole Ndiema also asked the hospital to renovate the old buildings and give them a facelift.
On drugs, he wondered why the hospital had drugs but  patients were referred to buy drugs outside the hospital. He asked the procurement department to be researching which drugs were urgently needed so that priority could be given instead of filling the stores with drugs which were not in need. “I am seeing a lot of drugs in the store purchased by the county government but patients are still complaining that they are being sent to buy drugs outside. What’s the problem?”   Ole Ndiema asked.
At the reception, patients complained of the slow service due to lack of enough nurses and  challenged the county and national government to collaborate and come up with modalities on how they will employ casual workers on permanent basis. He said employing more nurses will help reduce the long queue of patients and make service easier. Ole Ndiema was referring to patients who complained of slow service at the reception.
He asked pharmacists to go for further training so that they are in a position to know which drugs are there and which ones are not available before sending patients outside to buy drugs while drugs bought by the county government were lying in the store.

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