Improved health services and infrastructure in Lamu County have attracted patients from neighbouring Tana River County in search of better treatment options and medicine.
Nation.Africa found that Lamu health facilities such as Mpeketoni and Witu have continued to receive referrals, especially from Bula Rahma and Kipini villages, which lie on the border between Tana River and Lamu.
Lamu Deputy Governor Mbarak Bahjaj, who is also the County Health Executive.
Photo credit: Kalume Kazungu | Nation
Lamu Deputy Governor Mbarak Bahjaj, who is also the County Executive Member for Health, told the Nation on Thursday that between 50 and 80 cases of patients from Tana River County are seeking treatment at the various health facilities in Lamu County, thanks to improved infrastructure and service delivery.
“We’ve been working around the clock to ensure there’s good infrastructure in our Mpeketoni Sub-County Hospital and the Witu Health Centre in recent years. We’ve also ensured adequate staff and drugs to handle the many patients seeking treatment in these health facilities,” said Dr Bahjaj.
“Due to the availability of better quality, as well as, having access to specialised care in our Lamu facilities, patients from Tana River have always travelled all the way to Lamu, just to seek for specialised care services like giving birth, caesarean sections, prenatal or antenatal care, major surgeries, mental health care, among others. Many of these patients are from the border villages such as Kipini and Bula Rahma.”
Lamu has at least 34 health facilities. Among the key hospitals in Lamu are the King Fahd County Referral Hospital on Lamu Island, the Mpeketoni Sub-County Hospital in Lamu West, Faza Sub-County Hospital in Lamu East, the Mokowe Health Centre (Lamu West), and the Witu Health Centre also in Lamu West.
The King Fahad Hospital in Lamu.
Photo credit: Kalume Kazungu I Nation Media Group.
Despite having quality service provision in the main hospitals, some residents in villages that rely on dispensary services for treatment have on many occasions complained about poor services.
In Pandanguo, for instance, residents have complained about the lack of health workers to attend to their cases.
“We’ve only one doctor and a nurse in this place. The medics are now on leave and no one is present to attend to us. We’re forced to trek over 20 kilometres to Witu Health Centre to seek medication. We beg for help,” said Pandanguo Village Elder Adan Golja.
In its response, Dr Bahjaj admitted to having such challenges but blamed the situation on the ongoing strike by Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff.
“We’ve 52 staff under UHC who are all on strike. This has affected service delivery in some dispensaries that entirely relied on those UHC staff for services. The national government should do something to end the strike,” said Dr Bahjaj.
A section of the King Fahd County Referral Hospital in Lamu Island in this photo taken on November 12, 2024.
Photo credit: Kalume Kazungu | Nation
In 2016, Lamu and Tana River counties each received Sh200 million from the national government to upgrade their key hospitals so that residents could access better health services.
In Lamu, Sh100 million was set aside to boost infrastructure at the main Lamu King Fahd County Referral Hospital, Sh50 million for Mpeketoni Sub-County Hospital and another Sh50 million for Faza Sub County Hospital in Lamu East.
