Kilifi leaders have accused some health workers at the county’s health centres of laxity and negligence.
Led by Governor Amason Kingi and Senator Stewart Madzayo, the leaders said the workers offered substandard services that led to the deaths of patients.
Speaking at the official opening of a funeral home at Kilifi County Referral Hospital, Governor Kingi said several disciplinary cases were being processed by relevant county departments.
“A majority of the health workers are dedicated to their work and have offered the best services to the community. There are a few who are tarnishing the image of our county,” he said.
Work on the multimillion-shilling mortuary started in 2014.
The governor said some of the disciplinary cases are from Bamba Health Centre and the referral hospital.
Some of the workers had been sacked for different offences, he said.
“Some of the workers were in my first government, and they are now battling court cases,” he said.
He said the mortuary is a relief for families, who will find it cheaper to preserve the bodies of their loved ones.
“It was a burden to the vulnerable community to preserve the bodies in private facilities due to the high cost. Today the facility is there for all people,” he said.
Wealthy families used to take the bodies of their relatives to private mortuaries in Malindi and Mombasa.
The governor said the management will issue guidelines on how long bodies would be preserved at the facility.
County officials, he said, will seek court orders to bury bodies that are kept past the deadline.
“We do not want this mortuary to have excess bodies because families do not want to pick up their relatives’ bodies,” he added.
The morgue will have a permanent pathologist, an employee of the county government.
He said that will help the county avoid the headache of hiring a private pathologist to conduct postmortem exams.
It has a capacity to preserve 60 bodies and is expected to serve residents of Kilifi, Lamu and Tana River counties.
Senator Madzayo said some health workers got in trouble for negligence while serving vulnerable patients.
He cited a recent incident where it is alleged an expectant mother died while in labour at Kilifi County Referral Hospital.
He asked the governor to take action against the medical officers responsible for the death.
Senator Madzayo said the mother died because the medical officers were negligent.
“If a patient can stay for hours at a health facility without being attended to, it amounts to negligence,” he said.
He said a video clip shared on social media claimed the woman made several pleas to nurses to save her baby in vain.
Kilifi County Assembly Speaker Jimmy Kahindi echoed similar sentiments.
He said there had been a public outcry over poor services at health facilities in the county.
“There should be quality services in all health facilities at all times, from the time we open facilities going forward,” he said. BY DAILY NATION
