Mama Lucy Kibaki- an Ailing Nairobi Hospital That Needs Critical Diagnosis

Patients at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital are crying foul of poor services and negligence while at this government owned facility.

Several patients reached out to this writer to share their frustrations claiming that the conditions at this facility is at its worst state since it opened its doors on 5th August 2011.

Jared (Not his real name) narrates how he was frustrated while attending to his sick father who had been admitted at the hospital.

“I spent the whole day in the hospital, moving from one office, and counter to another as I followed the procedure directed to me by the phycians to get the required medications. In the end, I didn’t get any medication despite wasting my entire day and spending money” claimed Jared.

Another patient “Salome” informed us that the situation at Mama Lucy Hospital is dire and patients are literary left on their own as the medical support is so minimal. What Salome however, wonder is why the hospital is demanding every patient to part with “registration money” yet they are not accorded the service they are seeking for;

“Whenever I come here, I am told to pay 100 bob before I am allowed to see a doctor. This is despite the fact that my social protection card (NHIF) is fully working. What I get baffled at is that I never get the services I require most of the times”

An insider working at this facility told this writer that cartels are working hard to ruin this hospital. According to this informant, there is a scheme by some unscrupulous managers to defraud patients and the hospital of the government medicines which are brought here every week.

“The medical supplies are brought here weekly, particularly on Mondays but come next day, there is no single medicine in the hospital” reports the informant who continues to reveal that “ I understand there is a racket here involving senior management officers who confiscate and divert the car ferrying the medicines to their own pharmacies and private hospitals at the detriment of the public who are supposed to benefit from the government resources”

According to the informant, a senior personnel at this facility who has refused to engage in corrupt deals, the driver of the car that ferries pharmaceutical products from the government supplier is given over 50k every week, to conceal the racket.

What makes our insider sad is that some unscrupulous people operating with a lot of impunity are enriching themselves while members of the community continue to suffer for lack of healthcare attention and medicines.

“I really feel very sad over what is happening here and sometimes I get to wonder whether nobody is in charge to control the mess that is happening” lamented the informant adding that I am sure even the officials at the county level are aware of this racket”

Over the years, the hospital has been synonymous with negativities including but not limited to theft of newborns, poor service delivery, lack of pharmaceutical products, corruption and even harassment of patients, visitors and staff.

This writer tried to reach out the hospital board chairperson in vain as they failed to respond to our calls and emails.

An inside source working at this hospital tells us a senior county official could be fully aware of what is happening at this hospital, yet he is doing nothing about it.

According to this source, the chairperson of the board's hospital is a close ally of a senior personell at county level. He is the one who appointed her to the position as a form of reward and as such, she could be at liberty to do anything for her benefit.

It is no wonder then that the chairperson in question runs a myriad of businesses inside the facility to her name.

A visit to the hospital by this writer confirms the encroachment of different types of businesses all over the hospital, including spaces that were originally meant for patient's recreation.

This explains why the corruption monster has just refused to go away: who will save the ailing Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital?