One of the entrances of the Nakuru Level Five Hospital.
Nakuru Level Five Hospital has again found itself at the centre of controversy after a disturbing video clip surfaced showing patients sleeping outside in the cold.
The undated video, which has since gone viral on social media, was filmed by a local resident.
It shows elderly women and other patients lying outside in one of the hospital's fields at night, covered with lessos and clothes.
Some patients are visibly shivering as they struggle to protect themselves from the biting cold.
The clip also shows security guards attempting to forcibly remove some patients from a hall of benches in the casualty department, asking them to leave the premises, which is the largest referral facility in the South Rift region.
A man sleeps on a bench in the casualty department at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital.
In response to the incident, Nakuru Health Executive Roselyn Mungai condemned the actions of the security guards.
“The incident involving security guards at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital is unfortunate and uncalled for. However, we advise patient's families unable to travel home to stay in one area of the hospital until dawn and we have directed our officers to ensure communication to our clients is always carried out with respect and decorum,” Ms Mungai said in a statement.
She attributed the incident to a gap in the induction of new security guards posted to the hospital for work.
“We notice a gap in the induction of new guards deployed to the facility by the security company assigned to provide security at the hospital. But we have created a mechanism to ensure a smooth transition and onboarding process of new guards as they are deployed. The gap must have resulted in the altercation,” added the county official.
It remains unclear who ordered the guards to chase the patients out of the hospital at night.
The video clip has sparked widespread criticism, with many residents calling for a thorough investigation into why the patients were treated in this way.
“What could possibly justify chasing sick people out into the cold? It’s shocking and we deserve an explanation,” said David Kuria, the director of the Nakuru Human Rights Network.
Another resident, Winnie Opiyo, said, “This is so sad seeing elderly women and the sick sleeping outside in the biting cold. Why were the elderly women and patients not allowed to sleep even on the benches at the hospital waiting bay or at the casualty department? This is very unfortunate.”
Naivasha East MCA Stanley Karanja demanded an explanation from the county government. “We need to understand why elderly and sick patients were chased from the hospital and left to sleep in the cold,” he said.
The hospital serves as a referral facility for patients from Nakuru and six neighbouring counties.
It has specialised medical services such as a cancer centre and a state-of-the-art maternity wing--the 250-bed capacity Margaret Kenyatta Mother and Baby Maternity.
Despite the hospital’s advanced infrastructure, this is not the first disturbing incident to come to light.
In February, the hospital hit the headlines after the body of a seven-month-old baby mysteriously disappeared from its mortuary.
The baby, Mercy Chepng'eno, had died on February 6 and her parents Daniel Kipchirchir and Sharon Saidi were informed of her death. But the baby’s body went missing hours later.
Following an internal inquiry, five mortuary attendants were suspended. But the case remains unsolved.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) completed its investigation and referred the case to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for further action.
Both Nakuru County Secretary Samuel Mwaura and the hospital management acknowledged the security lapses and assured the public that measures would be taken to strengthen security at the facility.
