Malindi sub-county hospital has a shortage of specialists to run the modern health equipment that was commissioned to the hospital by the national government in 2015, it has emerged.
Addressing the press when he accompanied the presidential delivery unit in an inspection operation of the Sh750 million machines on Tuesday, Kilifi County Commissioner, Magu Mutundika said despite the equipment having eased health service delivery to the locals, acute specialist shortage remains a challenge.
Mutundika further quashed claims by several quarters that some of the equipment was not functioning.
"We have visited all the modern equipment including the ultrasound, dialysis, digital mammography, magnetic resonance imaging devices, and found that they are all working, as opposed to the rumours that were being peddled by some local politicians,” he said.
He further noted that “it has improved the health sector compared to the condition that was in 2013.”
The hospital's management, under the Medical Superintendent Evans Ogato, told the government's inspection team that some machines could not get to the patients lying in the hospital wards due to poor infrastructure within the hospital.
Erick Gambo, the head of the medical imaging department said that it is difficult to move some magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices to the wards because of the poor condition of the hospital's pavements.
“The condition of the pavements in the hospital is too poor for the modern equipment,” stated Gambo.
Mutindika reiterated that with the institutionalisation of the modern equipment, locals are accessing cheaper health services than before when they were required to travel to Mombasa or Nairobi.
“We have noted that locals are charged Sh8000 to undergo an MRI checkup, which is lower compared to private hospitals where they are charged between Sh30,000 and Sh40,000,” he said.
The County Commissioner urged local chiefs to create more awareness of the need for the locals to visit the hospital in case they are unwell because it is offering quality services which are cheap.
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