It’s 8am and patients have been abandoned in the corridors of one of the leading referral hospitals in Nyanza without nursing supervision because there is nowhere else to put them.
For the past couple of months, dozens of patients have been spending nights on the cold floors of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, popularly known as ‘Russia’, because the wards are full.
The chief executive, Dr George Rai, told the Nation yesterday that due to the improved services, they were receiving patients from all corners of the lake region, with some coming from private facilities.
“We are getting patients from all the counties in Nyanza. We cannot chase away a patient,” he said, adding that all the available 550 beds were occupied though the number of people needing care kept growing.
“If the ward is full and you need treatment, I’ll look for a way of treating you. You cannot go back home without being attended to,” Dr Rai said.
As of yesterday, there were about 570 patients. However, a quick check in most of the wards, including the surgical one, patients were sharing beds with some sleeping in the corridors.
The hospital resumed its admissions two weeks ago after a short break due to overcrowding. “We had stopped admissions because the number was high. We also had a surgical camp which has contributed to the high number of admissions,” Dr Rai said.
In the corridors, patients sleep on the floor without blankets and mosquito nets, yet Kisumu is one of the malaria risk counties. During the clean-up sessions in the morning, the patients have to move away for a while.
Nurses only check on them occasionally. The Nation has also established that some of the patients sleeping in the cold have medical arrears running into months. They were discharged but could not clear the bills.
One of the wards has over 80 patients, way above its normal capacity. It lacks good ventilation and hygiene as patients jostle for space with rats.
Mr Otieno*, who’s still nursing a wound on his left leg, has spent almost two months at the hospital despite being discharged in early January. “I’ve been here for the last one and a half months after failing to pay a bill of Sh30,000. My family could only raise Sh10,000,” he said.
“My bill keeps increasing while my hopes of getting out of here keep diminishing. The wound is getting worse due to lack of medication. After being discharged, the nurses cannot attend to you. We are only served meals at night. I am lucky there is a friend in one of the wards who shares his meal with me during the day,” he added.
Mr Wafula* has been here for about a month following a road accident that left him with a broken leg. He was discharged two weeks later, but his file has remained at the billing office after failing to pay Sh35,000.
“You cannot ask for any services. I hope they’ll release us to go home and get other means to clear the bills,” he said.
A junior staff member said the increased number of patients has also compromised the services being offered. She said the hospital does not plan for the surplus population who are forced to go without medication and proper meals.
Dr Rai said there are expansion plans, adding that in the next four weeks, three other wards with a capacity of 300 beds would be opened.
“The tough situation will end soon. In the next few weeks, we will be opening the other wards and we shall not be having such cases; we value our patients and we are here to give them the best,” Dr Rai said.
The county’s communication manager John Oywa, however, attributed the lack of beds to the many patients coming to the orthopedic unit, which was put up a fortnight ago.
“Despite having undergone successful operations, some of the patients missed single beds due to the overwhelming turnout. Relatives of some of the non-surgical patients were advised to transfer them to other facilities with bed space but opted to leave them there,” he said.
